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 script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

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 ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

", used in , referring to a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

aspirant. There is no v sound in most Modern Arabic dialects 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 the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

or for people descended from Levantine communities, particularly in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the

Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. 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 (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 Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs and Circassians in Israel, Circassians. The ...

* Adel Darwish, British political journalist, author, historian, broadcaster, and political commentator of Egyptian origin * Ahmad Darwish, Syrian footballer * Ihab Darwish, Emirati composer * Ishaq Darwish (1896–1974), Palestinian politician * Karim Darwish (born 1981), Egyptian squash player *

Khalid Darwish Khalid Darwish (; born 17 October 1979) is an UAE, Emirati Association football, 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 ...

(born 1979), Emirati footballer *

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...

(1941–2008), Palestinian poet and author *

Nonie Darwish Nonie Darwish (; born Nahid Darwish, 1948) is an Egyptian-American author, writer, founder of the Arabs for Israel movement, and director of Former Muslims United. Darwish is an outspoken critic of Islam. The Southern Poverty Law Center has des ...

(born 1949), Egyptian-American Zionist *

Sayed Darwish Sayed Darwish (, ; 17 March 1892 – 14 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 greatest composer. Ear ...

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

Tiffany Darwish Tiffany Renee Darwish (born October 2, 1971), known mononymously as Tiffany, is an American pop singer. Her 1987 cover of the Tommy James and the Shondells song " I Think We're Alone Now" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

(born 1971), American singer and former teen icon. Known popularly by her mononym Tiffany

Darwich/Darwiche

* Ahmad Darwich (born 1977), Lebanese-Danish DJ and music producer and co-founder of Kashcow record label * Adnan Darwiche, Australian double murderer from Sydney, New South Wales, currently serving 2 sentences of life imprisonment * Fadde Darwich (born 1966), Syria-born Swedish stand-up comedian

Notable people

Darwish

Darwich/Darwiche

See also

See also