Shapiro Explained

Shapiro, and its variations such as Shapira, Schapiro, Schapira, Sapir, Sapira, Spira, Spiro, Sapiro, Szapiro/Szpiro in Polish and Chapiro in French (more at "See also"), is a Jewish Ashkenazi surname.

Etymology

The surname is derived from Spira, the medieval name of Speyer in Germany;^[1] ^[2] ^[3] compare with Spire, the French name for that city. Other name variants based on the city name "Spira" include Spira, Spire, Spiro, Spear, Szpir, Szpiro, Spero, Sapir, Sapiro, Chapiro and Sprai.^[4] The Jewish community of Speyer was one of three leading cities central to the development of Ashkenazi culture, referred to as the Hebrew: [[ShUM-cities]], an acronym based on the names of the cities of Speyer/Spira, Worms and Mainz. The family name Speyer (based on the modern German name for the same city) has also become a well-known surname that was spread by Jews from Frankfurt to England, the United States and Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Notable people surnamed Shapiro

Adam Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Alan Shapiro (b. 1952), American poet
Alan Shapiro (education reformer), American education reformer
Alan N. Shapiro (born 1956), American science fiction and media theorist
Alex Shapiro, American composer
Allen Shapiro, American investor
Andrew H. Schapiro, American diplomat
Anna D. Shapiro (born 1966), American theatre director
Ari Shapiro, American reporter with National Public Radio
Arnold Shapiro (born 1941), American television producer and writer
Arnold S. Shapiro, American mathematician
Arthur Shapiro, entomologist and ecologist
Arthur K. Shapiro, psychiatrist and expert on the Tourette syndrome (1923–1995)
Artie Shapiro (1916–2003), American jazz bassist
Ascher H. Shapiro, MIT professor and expert in fluid dynamics (1916–2004)
Ben Shapiro (director), Peabody winning media expert and director.
Ben Shapiro, American conservative political commentator
Bernard Shapiro, Canadian academic, civil servant
Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist
Boris Shapiro, Russian-Swedish mathematician
Cal Shapiro, vocalist, Timeflies
Carl Shapiro, (born 1955) UC Berkeley economist and mathematician
Carl J. Shapiro (1913–2021), Boston philanthropist
Carol Harris-Shapiro, Reconstructionist rabbi
Charles S. Shapiro, American diplomat
Daniel B. Shapiro, U.S. ambassador to Israel
David Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Dmitry Shapiro, entrepreneur, inventor, Googler
Ehud Shapiro, Israeli computer scientist
Florence Shapiro, American politician
Francine Shapiro, American psychologist
Fred R. Shapiro, American legal librarian and editor
George Shapiro, American talent producer
Gerald Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Harold S. Shapiro (1928–2021), mathematics professor
Harold T. Shapiro, president of Princeton University
Harvey Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Helen Shapiro, British singer
Ian Shapiro, American political scientist
Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro, mathematician (1929–2009)
Irving Shapiro (1904–1931), one of the Shapiro Brothers, New York City labor racketeers
Irving S. Shapiro, attorney, former CEO of Dupont
Irwin Shapiro (1911–1981), American writer and translator
Irwin I. Shapiro, astrophysicist
J. David Shapiro, American filmmaker and stand-up comedian
Jacob Shapiro, mobster
James S. Shapiro (born 1955), American professor of English Literature
Jeremy J. Shapiro, professor at Fielding Graduate University.
Jesse Shapiro, American economist
Jim Shapiro (attorney), attorney
Jim Shapiro (drummer), American musician, drummer of Veruca Salt
Joel Shapiro, artist and sculptor
Jonathan Shapiro (born 1958), South African political cartoonist known as Zapiro
Jordan Shapiro, American author and educator
Joseph N. Shapiro (1887–1961), urologist, one of the founders of the urologic oncology in Russia
Josh Shapiro (b. 1973), Pennsylvania governor, politician, and lawyer
Judith Shapiro, former president of Barnard College
Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry (born 1942), American long-distance runner
Justine Shapiro, Documentary Filmmaker and Globe Trekker host
Karl Shapiro, United States poet
Laurie Gwen Shapiro, American novelist and filmmaker
Lee Shapiro, American film maker, killed by the Soviet military in Afghanistan
Lee Shapiro (musician), American keyboardist, member of The Four Seasons and founder of The Hit Men
Les Shapiro (1956–2022), American sports announcer
Linda Hopkins Shapiro, better known as Tera Patrick, former American pornographic actress
Lisa Shapiro (born 1967), American and Canadian philosopher
Louis Shapiro (communist), American Communist Party organizer
Louis Shapiro, Connecticut Supreme Court justice
Marc B. Shapiro, professor of Judaic Studies at University of Scranton
Mark Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Marla Shapiro, Canadian medical doctor, author and health journalist (print, television)
Meir Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
Mendel Shapiro, Modern Orthodox rabbi
Meyer Shapiro (1908–1931), one of the Shapiro Brothers, New York City labor racketeers
Michael Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Mordechai Shapiro, American singer
Nat Mayer Shapiro, American visual artist
Neal Shapiro, president of PBS station Thirteen/WNET New York City.
Neal Shapiro (equestrian) (born 1945), American equestrian and Olympic medalist
Nevin Shapiro (born 1969), convicted American fraudster and central figure in the 2011 University of Miami athletics scandal
Nina Gordon Shapiro, American singer
Norma Levy Shapiro, United States federal judge
Norman Shapiro (1932–2021), American mathematician and computer scientist
Paul Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Peter Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Ralph Shapiro (1908–1974), New York politician
Refael Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
Rick Shapiro, comedian and actor
Robert Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Robert Schapire, computer scientist who co-invented AdaBoost, a widely used machine learning meta-algorithm.
Roy D. Shapiro, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
Samantha Shapiro (born 1993), American gymnast
Samantha Harris Shapiro, American TV host (Dancing with the Stars, Entertainment Tonight)
Samuel Shapiro (disambiguation), several people
Saul Shapiro, president of the Metropolitan Television Alliance, LLC (MTVA)
Scott Shapiro, American political philosopher
Seymour Shapiro, American chemist who pioneered development of pharmaceuticals for use against diabetes
Sharon Shapiro, American gymnast
Shmuel Shapiro (born 1974), French Chassidic-Jewish singer and Hazan.
Sidney Shapiro, Chinese author and translator of American descent
Stanley J. Shapiro, professor emeritus of Marketing at Simon Fraser University
Stewart Shapiro, philosopher and logician
Stuart Loren Shapiro, better known as Todd Loren (1960–1992), American publisher
Stuart S. Shapiro, producer, writer, director, and Internet entrepreneur
Sumner Shapiro, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former director of the Office of Naval Intelligence
Susan Shapiro, American author and educator
Ted Shapiro (1899–1980), U.S. popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher
Theodore Shapiro (psychiatrist), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in New York
Theodore Shapiro (composer), American composer
Todd Shapiro, Canadian radio show host
Victor L. Shapiro (1924–2013), American mathematician
Walter Shapiro, American journalist and columnist
William "Willie" Shapiro (1911–1934), one of the Shapiro Brothers, New York City labor racketeers

Other uses

"Miss Shapiro", a song by 801 from the album 801 Live

Notes and References

News: What Does Your Jewish Name Mean?. Elon. Gilad. 2014-04-22. Haaretz. 2019-11-16. en.
Web site: Shapiro . Nate . September 30, 2016 . Shapiro: Blood, death, and beautiful sapphires . https://web.archive.org/web/20220203035118/https://issuu.com/jewishpress7/docs/093016 . 2022-02-03 . 2022-02-03 . Jewish Press . 16–17.
Book: City of Speyer . 1982 . Geschichte der Stadt Speyer . History of the City of Speyer . de . 118–144 . 1 . Kohlhammer Verlag . Stuttgart . 3-17-007522-5.
(Kaganoff, 1977) Source: Saul Zeichner, 27 November 2000, Revised 10 April 2009 http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kolomea/nameorigin.htm