The name rests on the Arabic root sh-h-l, which carries meanings connected with the colour and quality of the eye. From this root comes the adjective ashhal, describing eyes of an intense dark hue, and its feminine form shahlaa. Given names built on admired physical features are common in Arabic, and Shahlaa — rendered Shahla in Persian — is a classic example.
When the name travelled, its spelling travelled with it. Persian kept the short form Shahla; in South Asia, where the name entered through Urdu and through Arabic religious vocabulary, longer transliterations appeared. Shahalaah is one of these: the inserted and doubled vowels are a writer's attempt to guide an English reader toward the original sound.