Rokshana as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Rokshana

What is the meaning of the name Rokshana ?

The baby name Rokshana is a Female name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced IPA: /rɒkˈʃɑːnə/ — approx. "rok-SHAH-nah".

Rokshana is Persian, Urdu in Origin.

Rokshana is a Persian-derived feminine name linked to the Old Iranian root raoxšna- “bright, shining.” In New Persian, roshan/rokhshan means “light, radiant,” and the diminutive Roshanak conveys “little light.” Rokshana represents a Dari/Persian transliteration where kh or x signals the voiceless “kh” sound, yielding forms like Rokhsana or Rokhshana alongside Latinized Roxana. The core meaning centers on brightness, radiance, and the first light of dawn.

The name gained prominence through Roxana (Greek Roxane), the Bactrian noblewoman and wife of Alexander the Great, known in Persian tradition as Roshanak. Through Persianate culture, it spread across Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and South Asia, and today appears in Muslim and diaspora communities. Common variants include Roxana, Roxane, Roxanne, Roxanna, Roksana (Slavic), Roshanak (Persian), Rokhsana/Rokhshana, and South Asian spellings Rukhsana/Rukhshana. All forms preserve the luminous sense: “bright,” “radiant,” or “dawn light.”