33.5131° N, 36.2920° E

DAMASCUS

Most Famous People Born in Damascus, Syria

Notable people
464
Peak decade
1970s
Median birth year
1943
Most distinctive
Archbishop 31.4×
Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Damascus during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1970s with 48 notable births.

What Damascus Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Damascus's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (68).

Damascus over-indexes on archbishop31.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician68
  2. Football43
  3. Writer25
  4. Actor24
  5. Priest22
  6. Diplomat15
  7. Journalist13
  8. Film11
  1. Archbishop731.4×
  2. Minister59.1×
  3. Activist77.0×
  4. Diplomat155.5×
  5. Philosopher63.6×
  6. Priest223.2×
  7. Novelist52.7×
  8. Historian102.0×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Damascus's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Other
All464
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Showing 37 of 464 notable people

0024 WRITER

Zakaria Tamer

Born 1931

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0029 PHILOSOPHER

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm

1934 - 2016

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0042 PRIEST

Gregory III Laham

Born 1933

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0047 ACADEMIC

Wahbah al-Zuhayli

1932 - 2015

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0048 ENGINEER

Muhammad Shahrur

1938 - 2019

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0056 MINISTER

Najah al-Attar

Born 1933

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0076 PAINTER

Marwan Kassab-Bachi

1934 - 2016

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0077 FILM

Nabil Maleh

1936 - 2016

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0093 LAWYER

Haitham al-Maleh

Born 1931

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0102 MATHEMATICIAN

Dominique Foata

Born 1934

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0106 FILM

Duraid Lahham

Born 1933

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0135 AUTHOR

Adel Karasholi

Born 1936

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0136 POLITICIAN

Abdul Rauf al-Kasm

Born 1932

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0154 WRITER

Mohammed Rateb al-Nabulsi

Born 1938

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0161 POET

Huda Naamani

1930 - 2020

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0168 HISTORIAN

Dündar Ali Osman

Born 1930

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0174 ACTOR

Rafiq Subaie

1930 - 2017

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0190 POLITICIAN

Salim Kallas

1936 - 2013

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0203 ACTOR

Lucie Dolène

1931 - 2020

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0213 DIPLOMAT

Muhammad Ali al-Halabi

1937 - 2016

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0234 BUSINESS

Ali Ghaleb Himmat

Born 1938

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0249 FOLKLORIST

Claude Gaignebet

1938 - 2012

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0250 POLITICIAN

Adnan Omran

Born 1934

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0251 ARTIST

Burhan Karkutli

1932 - 2003

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0253 NOVELIST

Colette Khoury

Born 1937

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0254 WRITER

André Midani

1932 - 2019

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0265 POLITICIAN

Abdul Rahman Khleifawi

1930 - 2009

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0283 FINANCIER

Wafic Saïd

Born 1939

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0289 PAINTER

Nazir Nabaa

1938 - 2016

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0304 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Yves Lecerf

1932 - 1995

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0321 STUDIES

Munira al-Qubaysi

Born 1933

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0339 POLITICIAN

Yitzhak Galanti

1937 - 2012

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0349 PRESENTER

Majid al-Shibl

1935 - 2016

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0365 DEPUTY

Muhammad al-Imadi

Born 1930

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0371 POET

Muhammad Salim Barakat

1930 - 1999

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0421 LAWYER

Nadia al-Ghazzi

Born 1935

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0431 BUSINESS

Michel Chalhoub

Born 1931

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