There is a great deal of history behind the country name of Iran. Furthermore, there has been much debate over whether the country should be called “Iran” or “Persia”. Thus, there has been a continuing debate over whether the residents of the countries should be called “Iranian” or “Persian”.

Starting in 600 B.C., Greek politicians called the land within Cyrus the Great’s empire “Persis.” This name was derived from the word “Pars," which was the name of the people over whom Cyrus the Great ruled. This people group lived on the land that now exists as the province of Fars in Iran.

“Persis” over the many hundreds of years was turned into “Persia”. Persia remained as the official name for the country of Iran until 1935. However, Persian people within the country have called it “Iran” (and its residents “Iranian”) since the period of Sassanid rule which lasted from 226 A.D. to 651 A.D. During the Sassanid period, many individuals with Aryan features lived within Iran. “Iran,” in fact, means “land of the Aryans.” The term "Iranian," therefore, means "people of the Aryans."

Despite some resistance from residents of the country, “Persia” renamed itself “Iran” in 1935. When this change took place, all Persians were to consider themselves Iranian and to incorporate the terms “Iran” and “Iranian” into their common and official speech and documents.

However, many scholars deeply protested these changes and, in 1959, convinced the government that the terms “Persia” and “Iran” should be used interchangeably. In today’s language, the terms “Persian” and “Iranian” are one and the same. However, it is quite helpful to understand the history behind these terms.

If you read a book that was printed between 1935 and 1959, it is quite unlikely that you will come across the term “Persian,” as “Iranian” was the only accepted term for residents of the country during those years. However, if you read a text that was printed prior to 1935, you will only find the term “Persian” as the term “Iranian” had not yet been popularized.