Asparukh is a Middle Iranian male name, attested in ancient Georgia and early medieval Bulgaria. It is a compound with the two elements: "aspa" (horse) and "rauk" (shine), meaning "he who has shining horses".Encyclopedia Iranica online: Asparukh a Middle Iranian proper name attested in ancient Georgia and early medieval Bulgaria. Some other researchers claim that the name is derived from "aspa" (horse) and "rah" (soul), meaning "one with a soul of a horse".Bŭlgarski etimologichen rechnik, tom 1, Institut za bŭlgarski ezik (Bŭlgarska akademia na naukite) Vladimir Ivanov Georgiev, 1962, p.18.
The two historically attested persons bearing this name are: Asparukh of Iberia, a viceroy of Armazi in Iberia (Georgia), contemporary of the Roman emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD). Asparukh of Bulgaria, founder of the First Bulgarian Empire in the 680s.
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