The proper spelling for Iranian New Year is Nowruz

May, 2002

The correct transliteration of our New Year in English language is Nowruz. (Capital N, but no capital r).

As we all know, the Persian New Year is not celebrated just within the Iranian territory. Many neighboring countries celebrate it as their New Year. All these countries speak an accent of Persian.

The most used and popular translation is Nowruz. The second most used one is Norooz. Given that there are many ways Nowruz is spelled, we need to use a standardize spelling in English. The prefix "No-rooz,” may have a negative connotations in certain countries/perceptions.

According to Dr. Ehsan Yarshater of Encyclopedia Iranica, a committee worked on this issue and endorsed “Nowruz,” as the proper way to spell it universally in all languages. This has now been institutionalized through various Federal and State government agencies in the U.S.

We will use Nowruz which is the best pronounced and widely used spelling per Google search results until a better choice is found. We hope that this result/finding abates the confusion in the Iranian community here and abroad and we start using Nowruz.