Darwish and Darvish (and in French more prominently Darwich and Darwiche) are alternate

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

s of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word "

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

", used in ar, درويش, referring to a

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

aspirant. There is no v sound in most

Modern Arabic dialects The varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. There are considerable variatio ...

and so the originally Persian word is usually pronounced with a w sound in Arabic. The word appears as a surname in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

or for people descended from Levantine communities, particularly in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Afghanistan and the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

. In Iraq, the surname, which in Arabic means "wandering, roaming", has been borne by people of Jewish descent as well. An etymology for the name is given in the Oxford Dictionary of American Family Names:

Notable people

;Darvish :''Refer to Darvish'' ;Darwish *

Abdullah Nimar Darwish Sheikh Abdullah Nimar Darwish (1948 – 14 May 2017) was the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Biography Darwish was born in Kafr Qasim in 1948. After completing his religious studies in Nablus, he returned to Kafr Qasim and began advoc ...

(1948-2017), Arab-Israeli politician, founder of the

Islamic Movement in Israel The Islamic Movement in Israel (also known as the Islamic Movement in 48 Palestine) is an Islamist movement that advocates for Islam in Israel, particularly among Arabs and Circassians. The movement was established and led by Abdullah Nimar Darw ...

Adel Darwish Adel Alexander Darwish ( arz, عادل درويش, ) is a Westminster-based British political journalist, a veteran Fleet Street reporter, author, historian, broadcaster, and political commentator. Darwish is currently (since 2002) a parliament ...

, British political journalist, author, historian, broadcaster, and political commentator of Egyptian origin *

Ahmad Darwish Ahmad Darwish was a Syrian professional footballer. He played for Syria in the editions 1980 Asian Cup The 1980 AFC Asian Cup was the 7th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the A ...

, Syrian footballer *

Ihab Darwish Ihab Darwish is an Emirati composer, Universal Music Artist, and Recording Academy voting member. Darwish has been playing music since the age of ten and grew up in a family that supported his passion for music and composing. He received his Bache ...

, Emirati composer * Karim Darwish (born 1981), Egyptian squash player *

Khalid Darwish Khalid Darwish ( ar, خالد درويش; born 17 October 1979) is an Emirati footballer. He currently plays for Emirates Club. He is known for his ball controlling skills and excellent passing. He is sometimes nicknamed "Khalidona" after the f ...

(born 1979), Emirati footballer *

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, محمود درويش, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine ...

(1941–2008), Palestinian poet and author *

Nonie Darwish Nonie Darwish ( ar, نوني درويش; born Nahid Darwish, 1949) is an Egyptian-American writer, founder of ''Arabs for Israel'' movement, and is Director of Former Muslims United. Darwish is an outspoken critic of Islam. The Southern Poverty L ...

(born 1949), Egyptian-American human rights activist *

Sayed Darwish Sayed Darwish ( ar, سيد درويش, ; 17 March 1892 – 15 September 1923) was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of Egypt's greatest musicians and seen by some as its single gre ...

(1892–1923), Egyptian composer and singer, considered the father of Egyptian popular music *

Tiffany Darwish Tiffany Renee Darwish (born October 2, 1971), known Mononym, mononymously as Tiffany, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and former Teen idol, teen icon. Her 1987 Cover version, cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells song "I Think W ...

(born 1971), American singer and former teen icon. Known popularly by her mononym Tiffany ;al-Darwish *

Mustafa al-Darwish Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

(1994-2021), Saudi Arabian protester. ;Darwich/Darwiche *

Ahmad Darwich Ahmad Darwich (in Arabic أحمد درويش) (born in Lebanon on 15 May 1977) also known as Darwich, is a Lebanese-Danish DJ, songwriter and record producer. He is co-founder of the Danish Kashcow record label. Darwich & Garcia Darwich close ...

(born 1977), Lebanese-Danish DJ and music producer and co-founder of Kashcow record label * Adnan "Eddie" Darwiche, Australian double murderer from Sydney, New South Wales, currently serving 2 sentences of life imprisonment *

Fadde Darwich Fadde Darwich (born May 5, 1966, in Qamishli, Syria) is a Swedish stand-up comedian and former security officer at the public central square Stureplan. Darwich was together with the model Emma Withers. He is often a topic of discussion in the leadin ...

(born 1966), Swedish stand-up comedian of Syrian origin

Notable people

See also

See also