List of Syrians

This is a list of Syrian people. Entries on this list are demonstrably notable by having a linked current article or reliable sources as footnotes against the name to verify they are notable and identify themselves as Syrian, naturalized as Syrian, or were registered at birth as Syrian.

Ancient

 * Elagabalus – Roman emperor
 * Severus Alexander – Roman emperor, the son of Julia Mamaea
 * Philip the Arab – Roman emperor
 * Julia Domna – Roman empress and mother of Geta and Caracalla.
 * Eutropia – Roman empress, mother of Emperor Maxentius and Empresses Fausta and Flavia, the grandmother of Emperors Constantine II, Constans and Constantius II, and the great-grandmother of Emperor Julian and Constantius Gallus.
 * Leo III the Syrian – Byzantine emperor and the founder of the Syrian dynasty.
 * Constantine V – Byzantine emperor, father of Leo IV the Khazar and grandfather of Constantine VI.
 * Leo V the Armenian – Byzantine emperor of Armenian and Syrian origins.
 * Cassiodorus – Roman statesman and renowned scholar.
 * Avidius Cassius – Roman general and usurper.
 * Leontius (usurper)
 * Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus – council and military commander, second spouse of Lucilla, and father of Pompeianus.
 * Peter Barsymes
 * Marinus (praetorian prefect)
 * Eutolmius Tatianus
 * Florentius
 * Mansur ibn Sarjun – Byzantine fiscal official
 * Sarjun ibn Mansur – official in the Umayyad Caliphate
 * Minervina – wife of Constantine the Great, mother of Crispus.
 * Mamertina – concubine of Emperor Licinius and mother of Licinius II
 * Sextus Varius Marcellus – was the spouse of Julia Soaemias, he was also praefectus of the military treasury and governor of Numedia.
 * Firmus – Usurper during the reign of Aurelian

Modern and contemporary

 * Ibrahim Hananu – leader of the revolution (northern area) against French Mandate (1921–1929)
 * Shukri al-Quwatli – former President
 * Hashim al-Atassi – former President
 * Nazim al-Kudsi – former President
 * Rushdi al-Kikhya – statesman and political leader
 * Fares al-Khoury – statesman and former prime minister
 * Hafez al-Assad – former President
 * Abdul Halim Khaddam – former President and former Vice President
 * Subhi Barakat – former President
 * Lu'ay al-Atassi – former President
 * Nureddin al-Atassi – former President
 * Haqqi al-Azm – former prime minister
 * Khalid al-Azm – former prime minister
 * Maarouf al-Dawalibi – former prime minister
 * Sultan al-Atrash – General of the Great Syrian Revolution
 * Yusuf al-Azmah – former Minister of Defense
 * Rashad Barmada – former Minister of Defense
 * Bashir Azmeh – former prime minister
 * Mikhail Ilyan – former Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * Husni al-Za'im – former president
 * Amin al-Hafiz – former president
 * Ahmed Kuftaro – former Grand Mufti of Syria, 1964–2004
 * Carlos Menem – former President of Argentina
 * Levon Ter-Petrosyan - first president of Armenia
 * Mitch Daniels – 49th Governor of Indiana
 * Victor Atiyeh – 32nd Governor of Oregon
 * Robert Cahaly – political consultant and founder of the Trafalgar Group
 * Muhammad Mustafa Mero – former prime minister
 * Muhammad Naji al-Otari – prime minister
 * Mahmoud Zuabi – former prime minister
 * Farouq al-Sharaa – diplomat, former foreign minister from 1984 to 2006, and vice-president since 2006
 * Tareck El Aissami – Venezuelan Syrian politician serving as Minister of Industries and National Production since 14 June 2018
 * Khalil Eideh – Australian politician

Modern and contemporary

 * Hanna Abboud – Author, critic, translator, and mythographer
 * Dennis W. Sciama – English physician, considered one of the fathers of modern cosmology
 * Frank Harary – mathematician, considered one of the fathers of modern graph theory
 * Jerrier A. Haddad – co-developer and designer of the IBM 701 series which was IBM’s first commercial scientific computer and its first mass-produced mainframe computer
 * Hunein Maassab – professor of epidemiology; known for developing the Live attenuated influenza vaccine
 * Shadia Habbal – astronomer and physicist; played a key role in establishing the NASA Parker Solar Probe
 * Huda Akil – world renowned neuroscientist; known for discovering the role of endorphins in the human brain
 * Fawwaz T. Ulaby – professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan; he designed the world's first radar to fly in space
 * Kefah Mokbel, FRCS – lead breast surgeon at the London Breast Institute of The Princess Grace Hospital; professor of Breast Cancer Surgery (The Brunel Institute of Cancer Genetics and Pharmacogenomics) Brunel University London
 * Oussama Khatib – roboticist and professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; received the IEEE RAS for Distinguished Service Award (2013)
 * Jorge Sahade – astronomer, first Latin American President of the International Astronomical Union
 * Mario Hamuy – Professor of Astronomy at the University of Chile
 * Dina Katabi – director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Wireless Center
 * A. R. Frank Wazzan – Professor, and Dean Emeritus, of the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, UCLA
 * Rolando Chuaqui – mathematician, spearheaded the creation and expansion of mathematics departments across multiple Chilean universities
 * Charles Issawi – economist and historian of the Middle East at Columbia University and Princeton University
 * Jorge Bucay – gestalt psychotherapist, psychodramatist, and writer
 * Martín Abadi – computer scientist; inventor of Baby Modula-3, and co-developer of Burrows–Abadi–Needham logic
 * Raphael of Brooklyn – first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America
 * Malatius Jaghnoon – epigrapher and founder of the archaeological society in Homs
 * Afif Bahnassi – art historian and curator
 * Constantine Zureiq – historian and activist
 * Aref Dalila – economist, political activist and former political prisoner
 * Aref Dalila – economist, political activist and former political prisoner

Writers, poets and authors

 * Hanna Abboud – author, critic, translator, and mythographer
 * Hanna Diyab
 * Ziad Abdullah – novelist and screenwriter
 * Nasib Arida
 * Mary Ajami
 * Sadiq Jalal al-Azm – author, philosopher, sociologist and human rights advocate
 * Ali Ahmad Said Esber – popularly known as Adonis, a Syrian poet, essayist and translator
 * Aziz Azmeh – author and philosopher
 * Abdulkarim Baderkhan (born 1986) – poet, translator, critic
 * Morad Daoud – novelist, sculptor
 * Hisham al-Ghazzi (born 1923) – lawyer
 * Abd al-Masih Haddad
 * Qustaki al-Himsi
 * Adib Ishaq
 * Riad Ismat – writer, director
 * Amal Kassir – spoken word poet
 * Khaled Khalifa – novelist
 * Mohammed Maghout – poet and writer
 * Francis Marrash
 * Abu Khalil Qabbani – playwright, "father of Syrian theatre"
 * Nizar Qabbani – poet
 * Widad Sakakini (1913–1991) – writer and feminist
 * Fathallah Saqqal – lawyer, writer, government minister
 * Mona Simpson (born 1957) – Syrian American novelist and essayist
 * Zakariyya Tamer – writer
 * Muhammad al-Tunji – linguist, and author; received Indian Prize from UNESCO in 1970
 * Dima Wannous – author and journalist
 * Saadallah Wannous – playwright
 * Khairy Alzahaby – writer, novelist, scenarist, historian, thinker
 * Riad Sattouf – cartoonist, comic artist, film director
 * Zachary A. Behlok – Author and Philosopher

Businesspeople

 * Steve Jobs – co-founder of Apple and Pixar
 * Joseph Safra – formerly the richest banker in the world
 * Mansour Ojjeh – billionaire entrepreneur, son of Akram Ojjeh
 * Adnan Khashoggi - Billionaire businessman and arms dealer; his mother, Samiha, was of Syrian origin
 * Roger Tamraz – billionaire banker and venture capitalist
 * Joseph Nakash – American billionaire businessman
 * Wafic Said – billionaire businessman, he established the Saïd Foundation and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford
 * Stanley Chera – billionaire real estate developer
 * Jose Mugrabi – billionaire art dealer
 * David Nahmad – billionaire and former art dealer
 * Ezra Nahmad – billionaire art collector and dealer
 * Edmond Safra – billionaire banker
 * Moise Safra – billionaire banker
 * Ayman Asfari – billionaire businessman; former CEO of Petrofac.
 * Jeff Sutton – billionaire New York real estate developer and the founder of Wharton Properties
 * Mustafa Suleyman – CEO of Microsoft AI; co-founder of Deepmind and Inflection AI
 * Michel Chalhoub – billionaire businessman; founder of the Chalhoub Group
 * Ghassan Aboud – billionaire entrepreneur
 * Mohed Altrad – French-Syrian billionaire
 * Jaquesse Saadé – French billionaire of paternal Syrian ancestry; founder of CMA CGM, the world’s third largest container shipping company.
 * Ronald Mourad – chairman of The Portland Trust and Bridges Ventures
 * Elie Horn – Brazilian billionaire and founder of Cyrela Brazil Realty, Brazil's largest homebuilder and real estate company by revenue and market value
 * Isaac Saba Raffoul – Mexican billionaire businessman
 * Fuad Char – Colombian businessman, retailer, and politician, his family owns as many as 91 businesses with assets worth $2 billion
 * Joseph Cayre – American billionaire
 * Gilbert Bigio – Haiti's only billionaire and founder of GB Group
 * Joseph Matalon – the richest billionaire in Jamaica, his father immigrated from Damascus.
 * Ronaldo Mouchawar – entrepreneur, founder of Souq.com
 * Joseph Sitt – real estate investor, founder of Thor Equities
 * Feras Antoon – co-owner and CEO of Aylo, the world's largest pornography company
 * Dov Charney – Canadian entrepreneur and founder of American Apparel in addition to Los Angeles Apparel
 * Ghaith Pharaon – founder of Attock Group and Attock Cement
 * Marcus Lemonis — businessman and philanthropist; chairman and CEO of Camping World, and Good Sam Enterprises
 * Sam Yagan – Internet entrepreneur
 * Jack Hidary – American technologist
 * Fouad al-Zayat – billionaire businessman and gambler
 * Al Waleed bin Talal – Saudi royal and billionaire businessman, whose maternal grandmother, Fayza Al-Jabiri, was from Aleppo
 * Moutaz Al-Khayyat – Syrian-Qatari businessman, co-founder of Power International Holding and Baladna, along with his brother Ramez Al-Khayyat
 * Simon Halabi – former billionaire property developer
 * Mazen Al-Tarazi – Syrian-Canadian businessman
 * Talal Abu-Ghazaleh – founder of an eponymous organization, Talal is dubbed as the godfather of Arab accounting; his mother was from Damascus
 * Shafiq Ades – businessman who was the wealthiest Jew in Iraq
 * Ayah Bdeir – Canadian entrepreneur; founder of LittleBits
 * Sadad Al Husseini – former Executive Vice President for Exploration and Producing at Saudi Aramco
 * Reed Jobs – venture capitalist
 * Assad John Haloute – founder of Chefette, the largest fast food restaurant chain based in Barbados
 * Ijad Madisch – founder and CEO of ResearchGate
 * George Haswani – businessman who owns the HESCO natural gas production company
 * Adnan Kivan – multi-millionaire and owner of Kyiv Post
 * Omar Hamoui – founder of AdMob
 * Mohammed Mohiedin Anis
 * George Haswani – businessman who owns the HESCO natural gas production company
 * Adnan Kivan – multi-millionaire and owner of Kyiv Post
 * Omar Hamoui – founder of AdMob
 * Mohammed Mohiedin Anis

Actors/actresses

 * Jerry Seinfeld – comedian and actor (Syrian mother)
 * Teri Hatcher – actress and singer, she has Syrian ancestry from her mother's side.
 * Murray Abraham – actor and winner of the Academy Award
 * Wentworth Miller – actor and screenwriter, he has Syrian ancestry from his mother's side.
 * Jonathan Roumie – American actor
 * Vic Tayback – actor
 * Elisa Sednaoui – actress, model, and entrepreneur
 * Yasser Azmeh – comedian and director
 * Abbas al-Noury – actor
 * Samer al-Masry – actor
 * Bassam Kousa – actor
 * Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour – actor
 * Muna Wassef – actress
 * Lilia al-Atrash – actress
 * Bouthayna Shaya – actress
 * Marwan Farhat – actor
 * Raghda Khateb – actress
 * Ayman Al-Salek – actor
 * Adel Abo Hassoon – actor
 * Jumana Murad – actress
 * Anjy Al-Yousif – actress
 * Yahya Al-Kafri – actor
 * Hisham Kafarneh – actor

Archaeologists

 * Khaled al-Asaad – former director of antiquities in Palmyra, brutally beheaded by Daesh
 * Raoul Gregory Vitale – born in Latakia

Architects

 * Nazih Kawakibi – architect, professor of architecture, and historian of Damascus
 * Khaled Malas – architect and art historian
 * Moshe Safdie – designer of Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport
 * Apollodorus of Damascus – Roman architect, 2nd century

Artists

 * Youssef Abdelke – artist
 * Darin Ahmad – artist, poet, writer
 * Ali Farzat – cartoonist
 * Jamal Joratil –painter
 * Marwan Kassab-Bachi – painter
 * Louay Kayali – cartoonist
 * Fateh Moudarres – painter

Athletes

 * Flamma – gladiator
 * Kelly Slater – American professional surfer
 * Jamal Murray – NBA basketball player
 * Brandon Saad – American professional ice hockey player
 * Joseph Atiyeh – wrestler and silver medalist at the 1984 Olympic Games
 * Zid Abou Hamed – athlete
 * Mustafa Hamsho – boxer
 * Ahed Joughili – weightlifter
 * Michael Madanly – basketball player
 * Naser Al Shami – boxer
 * Feras Saied – bodybuilder
 * Yasser Seirawan – chess grandmaster and four-time US-champion
 * Ghada Shouaa – heptathlete and gold medalist at the 1996 Olympic Games
 * Yaser Shigan – boxer
 * Sami Zayn – wrestler

Footballers

 * Omar Al Somah
 * Firas Al Khatib
 * Jehad Al Hussain
 * Mahmoud Al-Mawas
 * Wael Ayan
 * Aatef Jenyat
 * Sanharib Malki
 * Ilyas Merkes
 * Louay Chanko
 * George Mourad
 * Christer Youssef
 * Abdul Fattah Al Agha
 * Basel Abdoulfattakh
 * Dani Kiki
 * Gaby Jallo
 * Imad Chhadeh
 * Ninos Gouriye
 * Ibrahim Alma
 * Zyad Chaabo
 * Oliver Kass Kawo

Criminals

 * Monzer al-Kassar – international arms dealer

Film directors

 * Moustapha Akkad
 * Omar Amiralay
 * Talal Derki
 * Mohammad Malas
 * Ossama Mohammed
 * Abdellatif Abdelhamid

Musicians

 * Bob Marley – born to a family of Syrian Jewish origin
 * Paula Abdul
 * Asmahan – original name: Princess Amal Al Atrash, singer, sister of Farid Al Atrash
 * Farid al-Atrash – composer, singer and oud player
 * Fahd Ballan – traditional singer
 * Kinan Azmeh – musician
 * Sabah Fakhri – traditional singer
 * Malek Jandali – composer and pianist
 * Assala Nasri – singer
 * George Wassouf – singer
 * Bachar Zarkan – musician, singer, actor
 * Lena Chamamyan – singer
 * Rasha Risk – singer
 * Mayada El Hennawy – singer
 * XXXTentacion – rapper, singer, songwriter
 * Nejmi Succari – violinist

Former political prisoners and prisoners of conscience

 * Ali al-Abdallah – writer and human rights activist
 * Michel Kilo – writer, political prisoner
 * Haytham Manna – writer, spent three decades as a human rights activist
 * Haitham al-Maleh – human rights activist and former judge
 * Riad al-Turk – prominent Syrian opposition leader, former political prisoner for about 20 years in Syria

Miscellaneous

 * Michel Aflaq – political theorist
 * Vatche Arslanian – International Red Cross
 * Tawfiq Bay – traveler, military leader, and politician
 * Muzna Dureid – activist
 * Aref Dalila – economist, Damascus Spring figure
 * Hala Gorani – reporter
 * Sireen Hamsho – renewable energy specialist
 * Abdul-Nabi Isstaif – critic, a scholar of comparative literature and Orientalism
 * Sami Zayn – professional wrestler
 * Ahmad Joudeh – ballet dancer
 * Jack Marshall – poet and author
 * Osama Al-Samman – civil society activist