Darwish


Darwish and Darvish are alternate transliterations of the Persian word "dervish", used in درويش, referring to a Sufi 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 or for people descended from Levantine communities, particularly in Lebanon, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian territories. In Iraq, the surname, which in arab 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
;Darwish
;Darwich/Darwiche