Nazar (given name)

Nazar is a masculine name with multiple origins.

Christian use
As used by Christians, it means "from Nazareth," the town where Jesus Christ was said to have lived. The etymology of Nazareth from as early as Eusebius up until the 20th century has been said to derive from the Hebrew word נצר netser, meaning a "shoot" or "sprout", while the apocryphal Gospel of Phillip derives the name from Nazara meaning "truth".

Among Muslims it may also be of Persian, Arabic, or Turkic origin, see article "nazar" for etymology.

Nazario is an Italian and Spanish version of the name, Nazaire is a French version and Nazarii is a Ukrainian and Nazaryi Russian form. Other variants in use include Naz, Nasareo, Nasarrio, Nazaret, Nazarie, Nazaro, Nazarene, Nazerine and Nazor. Nazret, the Amharic word for Nazareth, is also occasionally used as a female name in Ethiopia and Eritrea, while Nazaret is also occasionally used as a name for girls in Spanish-speaking areas. According to the web site behindthename.com, all are derived from the name Nazarius, which was in use in late Roman times and was also the name of some early Christian saints and martyrs. In 2008, Nazar was the most popular name for boys born in Ukraine.

People

 * Saint Nazarius (Roman Martyrology), saint of the Roman Catholic Church, mentioned in the Martyrology of Bede and earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology
 * Saint Nazarius (Abbot), fourteenth abbot of the monastery of Lérins
 * Saints Nazarius and Celsus, two martyrs of whom nothing is known except the discovery of their bodies by Saint Ambrose


 * Nazar Al Baharna (born 1950), Bahraini academic, entrepreneur and politician
 * Nazar Baýramow (born 1982), Turkmenistani footballer
 * Nazar Mahmud (born 1988), Israeli-Druze figure skater
 * Nazar Mohammad (1921–1996), Pakistani cricketer
 * Nazar Mohamed Kassim, Singaporean convicted killer
 * Nazario Escoto, acting President of "Democratic" Nicaragua after the death of Francisco Castellón during Granada-León civil war
 * Nazario Sauro (1880–1916), Austrian-born Italian irredentist and sailor
 * Nazario Toledo (1807-1887), Costa Rican politician
 * John Paul Nazarius, Dominican theologian
 * Nazariy Yaremchuk (1951–1995), Ukrainian singer
 * Ruzi Nazar (CIA agent who was supposed to have Uzbek origin)
 * Nazar (comedian) (died 20 January 1992), Pakistani comedian, film actor

Fictional characters

 * Zoya Nazar, fictional character in the Indian YRF Spy Universe, portrayed by Katrina Kaif