Farrokh

Farrokh means fortunate or auspicious in Persian, a word-name worn like a small blessing. Its most famous bearer remains Farrokh Bulsara, the Zanzibar-born schoolboy who grew up to front Queen under the stage name Freddie Mercury; the original carried all the swagger the stage name would later borrow. Rendered فرخ, it moves in two brisk beats, the trilled r giving way to a soft, aspirated finish. Common across Iran and Central Asia and vanishingly rare in English-speaking countries, Farrokh sounds vintage and vivid at once. Old, auspicious, a little theatrical by birthright.