Darwish and Darvish are alternate transliterations of the Persian word "dervish", used in Arabic: 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 Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories. In Iraq, the surname, which in Arabic means "wandering, roaming" has been borne by people of Jewish descent as well.
