Shapiro

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

Etymology[edit]

The surname is derived from the medieval name of Speyer, Germany,[1][2] compare Spire, the French name for that city. Other name variants attributed to Speyer include Sapiro, Spira, Spire, Spiro, Spero, Chapiro, Sprai, Szpir, Szpiro, Sapir and Spear.[3] The Jewish community of Speyer was one of three leading cities central to the development of Ashkenazi culture, referred to as the ShUM-cities, an acronym based on the names of the cities. 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[edit]

Other uses[edit]

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

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elon, Gilad (2014-04-22). "What Does Your Jewish Name Mean?". Haaretz. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  2. ^ Shapiro, Nate (September 30, 2016). "Shapiro: Blood, death, and beautiful sapphires". Jewish Press. pp. 16–17. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  3. ^ (Kaganoff, 1977) Source: Saul Zeichner, 27 November 2000, Revised 10 April 2009 http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kolomea/nameorigin.htm