1.Introduction
Place names are durable components of mountain landscapes. They may persist locally, move with political or tribal groups, or acquire new historical and epic associations. This study examines the geographical correspondence of historical–epic place names in the Central Zagros and asks whether selected names, when read together with relief, intermontane plains, documented mobility, written forms, and cultural memory, form a meaningful geographical pattern rather than a set of verbal similarities. The Qarin–Nahavand connection provides the documentary core, while the other cases provide evidence of unequal strength. Geographical correspondence is not treated as proof of common ancestry, direct continuity, or common etymology. The study distinguishes persistence, transfer through mobility, conversion of personal names into group or place names, and later attachment of epic memory to landscapes. The research question emerged from the author’s participation in Iran’s national Simorgh Mountains project and ascents of major summits, but the argument itself rests on published historical, geographical, epic, linguistic, ethnographic, and cartographic sources.

2. Method
The study combines historical geography, topographic analysis, comparative textual analysis, and critical toponymy. The unit of analysis is the “name–place–source” triad. Fourteen principal relations were selected because each has a traceable name, geographical or social referent, and assessable claim. The main area includes Nahavand, Borujerd, Silakhor, Dorud, Aligudarz, Delfan, Herv, and Zagheh, with Malayer–Shazand as a comparative extension.
Mapped sites were registered in WGS84 and examined against shaded relief and elevation data. Great-circle distances are used descriptively and are not interpreted as migration routes. Evidence is graded as Level I, documented historical–geographical or independently traceable onomastic evidence; Level II, geographical–cultural indication or documented cultural memory; and Level III, testable onomastic hypothesis requiring additional intermediate forms, phonological analysis, or independent evidence. In Godarzi, Chal-e Godarzi, and Bijanvand, Level I refers only to the documented existence of the name, place, or tribal structure, not descent from a historical or epic figure. Apparent -vand names serve as a methodological control against equating graphic similarity with common etymology.

3.Results
The strongest documentary layer includes Qarin–Nahavand, later Qarenid continuity in Tabaristan, the Arsacid name Godarz/Gotarzes, and documented Godarzi and Bijanvand formations. These cases show that names could persist, move, and reappear in later social or geographical structures. Godarz/Gotarzes also provides an important point of contact between an Arsacid historical layer and the Godarzian epic tradition without proving direct genealogical identity.
A second group concerns cultural memory. Aligudarz/Al-e Godarz is a recorded cultural interpretation, while Shah Zendeh and the Kay Khosrow cave show epic memory attached to an existing landscape. Published regional sources document the Shah Zendeh–Kay Khosrow association, although the historical occurrence of the Shahnameh episode there is unproven.
A third group consists of Level III hypotheses. Qarun/Qarin, Beyran/Bahram, Bajul/Bijan, and modern Qalā/epic Qalā remain testable propositions of unequal strength. Their inclusion also depends on geographical setting, historical context, related-name distributions, and possible intermediate forms.
The -vand analysis shows that in parts of the Zagros a personal name could become associated with a group and later with a place. This documents a real mechanism of name transfer but does not justify treating Nahavand, Qahavand, Damavand, Alvand, Qarinvand, Bijanvand, Beyranvand, and similar forms as one etymological class.
Examination of the geographical distribution shows a connected but non-linear system of ridges, intermontane plains, valleys, and passageways. Near Dorud, Mounts Qarun and Pariz lie about 8.6 km apart and at nearly the same latitude. Qarun/Qarin remains a core Level III hypothesis, while Pariz/Parviz is an additional exploratory hypothesis outside the fourteen principal relations because no dated intermediate form currently connects Pariz directly with Parviz.
In the Shazand–Malayer sector, Mount Shah Zendeh and Mount Qalā are independently recorded features about 17.3 km apart. Shah Zendeh is linked by published regional tradition with Kay Khosrow and is classified at Level II. Qalā is also a mountain name in the Shahnameh during the Turanian episode of Kay Khosrow’s childhood. No independent evidence identifies the epic Qalā with the modern mountain near Shazand, but their spatial association creates a specific and falsifiable geographical–onomastic question.

Several complementary cases outside the fourteen core relations extend the analysis. Garrin/Garu may preserve an old mountain-related name comparable with Avestan gairi-; Volash corresponds formally with Walagaš/Walāš/Balāš; Gamasiyab/Gamasb is notable because Gāmāsb is recorded for the river and a settlement named Gamasb exists in the same district, making comparison with Jamasp/Jāmāsp a serious testable hypothesis; the Nisaean Plain provides broader historical context for Media and Bisotun; and Gapele/Japlaq, Gabae, and Kaveh form another set of hypotheses of unequal strength, with Gapele/Gabae currently stronger than Gapele/Kaveh.

4. Discussion
The findings indicate that the central issue is not whether present-day names were directly derived from historical or epic figures, but how names may persist, move, and be reinterpreted. A layered model is therefore more appropriate than a linear genealogy. Qarin illustrates durability and mobility of a dynastic name; Godarz illustrates transformation of historical memory within epic tradition; and Shah Zendeh–Qalā illustrates how cultural memory may become attached to a later landscape.
Place names can thus be treated as incomplete spatial archives. They may preserve traces of earlier political, social, or cultural realities while undergoing phonetic, orthographic, and semantic change. The Zagros landscape is active in these processes: ridges may favor local persistence, while plains, valleys, rivers, and passes enable movement of people, groups, narratives, and names.
The principal limitation is chronological heterogeneity. Arsacid and Sasanian evidence, epic literature, Islamic-period geography, later ethnographic records, and modern names belong to different periods, and nominal similarity cannot bridge these gaps by itself. The appropriate response is to distinguish demonstrated relations, meaningful indications, and hypotheses open to testing.

5. Conclusion
The Central Zagros contains a geographically coherent but evidentially heterogeneous set of historical–epic names. Qarin–Nahavand, Qarenid continuity, historical Godarz/Gotarzes, and documented Bijanvand and Godarzi formations constitute the firmer core, while Aligudarz/Al-e Godarz and Shah Zendeh–Kay Khosrow show how names may also carry cultural and spatial memory.
The exploratory propositions—Qarun/Qarin, Pariz/Parviz, Beyran/Bahram, Bajul/Bijan, Gamasiyab/Gamasb/Jamasp, Garrin/Garu, Volash, and Gapele/Gabae/Kaveh—do not have equal evidential strength and should not be treated as established etymologies. Their importance lies in turning name similarity into geographically and historically testable questions.
Overall, place names can be read as an “incomplete archive of the landscape.” Some persist locally, some travel with groups, some are reproduced in social and settlement structures, and others acquire later historical or epic meanings. The “name–place–source” unit, explicit evidential hierarchy, and simultaneous examination of geography, mobility, written forms, and cultural memory provide a framework that avoids unsupported identification while preserving new hypotheses for future testing.

Author Contributions
Conceptualization, D.Y.; methodology, D.Y.; software, D.Y.; validation, D.Y.; formal analysis, D.Y.; investigation, D.Y.; resources, D.Y.; data curation, D.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, D.Y.; writing—review and editing, D.Y.; visualization, D.Y.; project administration, D.Y. The author has read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data Availability Statement
The data supporting the findings of this study consist of the publicly available historical, geographical, and topographic sources cited in the manuscript. The compiled analytical dataset and GIS point layer are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgements
The author offers his deepest respect and gratitude to Hakim Abolqasem Ferdowsi, one of the enduring pillars of Iran’s national identity and cultural continuity. Through his extraordinary vision, lifelong devotion, and monumental creation of the Shahnameh, he preserved an invaluable treasury of the Persian language, Iranian history, mythology, geographical memory, ethical values, and national heritage. Ferdowsi’s decades of unwavering effort safeguarded the names, places, narratives, and heroes of the Iranian world and transmitted them across generations. This study is humbly dedicated to his immortal legacy and to the unparalleled service he rendered to Iran, the Persian language, and the preservation of Iranian identity.
Ethical Considerations
This study involved no human participants, animals, personal data, questionnaires, or interviews; therefore, approval by an ethics committee was not applicable. The author adhered to accepted principles of research integrity and avoided fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other forms of research misconduct.

Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.