I feel like there is a major difference between the names of late Achaemenid and early Sassanid rulers, especially when compared with Greek and Roman names over the same 500 year time period. I know that Achaemenid names are often more Romanized in history than Sassanid names are, but it still seems odd to me that Achaemenid names did not remain popular while Greek and Roman names such as Philip, Julia, and Marcus remain popular to this day. Is this solely due to the evolution of the Persian language or is there a greater cultural shift that explains the difference?
I don't know a whole lot about the historical aspect of it nor of any cultural aspects of it, an actual historian would be more suited towards that. However, I do study linguistics and could give you some minor insight.
One thing to keep in mind when comparing Old Persian and Middle/New Persian names is that the Persian language changed greatly between Old Persian and Middle Persian. Many consonants shifted or merged, vowels changed, many aspects of the grammar changed, the case system simplified, and gender was entirely dropped. New Persian is extremely similar to Middle Persian in comparison.
Here is a list of Sasanian Middle Persian names and their Old Iranian counterparts. I've also gone ahead and added their New Persian and English equivalents.
| Middle Persian | Old Iranian | New Persian | English, Latin or Greek |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardašīr | Artaxšaçā | Ardešīr | Artaxerxes |
| Šāhpūr | *Xšāyaθiyahyāpuθra | Šāpūr | Sapor |
| Wahrām | Vərəθraγna | Bahrām | Varanes |
| Narseh | Nairiiō saŋha | Narseh | Narseus |
| Yazdgird | Yazata karta | Yazdegerd | Isdigerdes |
| Husraw | *Husrava | Xosrow | Chosroes |
| n/a | Kuruš | Kuroš | Cyrus |
| Dārā | Dārayavaʰuš | Dārā/Dāryuš | Darius |
| n/a | Xšayāršā | Xašāyār | Xerxes |
Xašāyār, Dārā/Dāryuš, Kuroš, Xosrow, Bahrām, Šāpūr, Ardešīr, are all commonly found Persian names to this day.