Katayoun is from the Persian کتایون — possibly from Old Persian kata-yauna (Greek city-related, of the Greek). A modern American baby name in the broader Persian heritage aesthetic. Katayoun is one of the foundational queens of the Shahnameh (Ferdowsi, c. 1010 CE) — daughter of the Caesar of Rum (Byzantine emperor) who married the foundational Iranian king Goshtasp (Vishtaspa, foundational patron of Zoroaster) + became mother of the foundational hero Esfandiyar. Central to the foundational Shahnameh Kayanian dynasty + the foundational episode of Greek-Iranian royal marriage. Notable modern bearer: Katayoun Riahi (born 1962) — foundational Iranian actress + foundational figure in the Iranian Hijab Resistance movement (publicly removed hijab in 2022 during the foundational Mahsa Amini protests). Foundational Persian feminine name.
Featured throughout Persian heritage.
Katayoun reduces to five.