He spoke five languages (Persian, French, English, Russian, and German). As surnames had not been established in Persia at the time of his studies in France, he registered himself as “Firouz Firouz”, using his grandfather’s name as his surname. Afterwards, when the Persian government made surnames mandatory by law, his father Prince Abdol-Hossein Farmanfarma picked the surname Farmanfarmaian for himself and his children. However, three of his children – Nosrat-ed-Dowleh, one of his 23 brothers (also a son of Princess Ezzat-ed-Dowleh), and one of his 12 sisters (daughter of Princess Ahshami) – held on to the surname “Firouz” and became known as Firouz Firouz, Mohammad Hossein Firouz, and Maryam Firouz, respectively.
