soraya

Soraya (Persian: ثریا) is a feminine Arabic and Persian name. It is derived from the Arabic name for the Pleiades star cluster, Thurayyā or Suraya (Arabic: ثُرَيَّا). The name, also spelled Zoraya, is used in Spain and throughout the Spanish-speaking world with an origin in Al-Andalus. One historical example is Isabel de Solís, one of the final princesses of the Nasrid dynasty of Granada who converted to Islam and took the name Soraya or Zoraya. The name is also popular in Europe due to its association with Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, who became a European socialite.
For phonological reasons, it is usually transcribed as Suraya in Afghanistan and Surayo in Tajikistan.

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