Mahnaz is a Persian name meaning 'moon grace' or 'glory of the moon.'
Mahnaz is a lyrical Persian name composed of two classical elements: *māh* (ماه), meaning "moon," and *nāz* (ناز), a richly layered word that encompasses grace, elegance, coquetry, pride, and a kind of tender self-possession. Together, Mahnaz suggests something like "the moon's grace" or "as graceful as the moon" — a name that places its bearer within a long Persian poetic tradition in which the moon is the supreme symbol of beauty, constancy, and the power to illuminate darkness without blazing heat. The *nāz* component deserves special attention: in Persian literature and culture, *nāz* describes a quality of being adored and knowing it — a gentle confidence, an elegance that invites devotion.
Classical poets like Hafez and Rumi used *nāz* repeatedly in their ghazals, and the word carries centuries of literary perfume. To name a daughter Mahnaz is to reach into that tradition and draw out an aspiration: that she will carry herself with the quiet radiance of moonlight and the graceful assurance of the beloved. Mahnaz is common in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Persian diaspora communities worldwide.
It gained particular prominence in Iran through the mid-twentieth century, and notable bearers include Mahnaz Afkhami, the Iranian feminist and former Minister of Women's Affairs before the 1979 revolution, whose work on women's rights has been recognized internationally. The name travels beautifully into non-Persian contexts: its sound is accessible, its meaning translates powerfully, and it carries with it the elegance of a literary tradition stretching back over a thousand years.