Tabrizi

Tabrizi is a toponymic surname or nisba indicating origin from Tabriz, a historic city in northwestern Iran. The name is used in Persian, Turkish, and related languages to denote a person associated with or from Tabriz. As a major cultural and commercial center on the Silk Road, Tabriz influenced literature, art, and scholarship across the Persianate world, and its name appears in many historical and literary contexts.

The city of Tabriz played a significant role in the arts and sciences from medieval times onward. Its merchants, poets, and scholars contributed to the cultural exchange between Iran, Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the broader Muslim world. As a result, individuals connected with Tabriz or identified with the city often carried the epithet Tabrizi in biographical and literary sources.

Notable figures associated with the name include Shams al-Din Tabrizi (c. 1185–1248), a Persian mystic who became the spiritual mentor of Jalal ad-Din Rumi. Known as Shams-i Tabriz, he is celebrated in Sufi lore for inspiring Rumi’s later poetic and spiritual work, and his life is the subject of various hagiographies and scholarly studies.

Today, Tabrizi remains a common surname for people from Tabriz or with ties to the city. It is sometimes transliterated as Tabreezi or Tabriziy, reflecting different linguistic and regional conventions. The name continues to appear in historical references as well as contemporary biographical records.