Shapiro, and its variations such as Shapira, Schapiro, Schapira, Sapir, Sapira, Spira, Sapiro,

Spiro (name) Spiro is a surname with a variety of origins, as well as a given name among Greek-speaking populations, Albanians, and the Christians of Lebanon. Origins As a Greek name, Spiro may also be spelled Spyro. It comes from the ''Greek'' Spiros/Spyros/ ...

/Spyro (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

), Szapiro/ Szpiro (in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

) and Chapiro (in French), is a Jewish Ashkenazi surname.

Etymology

The surname is derived from the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

name of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, 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. The

Jewish community of Speyer The history of the Jews in Speyer reaches back over 1,000 years. In the Middle Ages, the city of Speyer (formerly Spira), Germany, was home to one of the most significant Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. Its significance is attested to ...

was one of three leading cities central to the development of Ashkenazi culture, referred to as the , 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. Some suggest that the surname derives from the Aramaic word () meaning "handsome".

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 Allen Shapiro is a media executive and investor. He is the former executive chairman and CEO of Dick Clark Productions (DCP), a former chairman of TV Guide, and a former entertainment lawyer. Shapiro was the executive producer of DCP's flagship p ...

, American investor * Andrew H. Schapiro, American diplomat *

Ari Shapiro Ari Michael Shapiro (born September 30, 1978) is an American radio journalist. In September 2015, Shapiro became one of four rotating hosts on National Public Radio's flagship drive-time program ''All Things Considered''. He previously s ...

, 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 Arthur K. Shapiro, M.D., (January 11, 1923 – June 3, 1995) was an American psychiatrist and expert on Tourette syndrome. His "contributions to the understanding of Tourette syndrome completely changed the prevailing view of this disorder"; Co ...

, psychiatrist and expert on the Tourette syndrome (1923–1995) * Artie Shapiro (1916–2003), American jazz bassist *

Ascher H. Shapiro Ascher Herman Shapiro (May 20, 1916 – November 26, 2004) was a professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He grew up in New York City. Early life and education Shapiro was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish Lithuanian immigrant ...

, MIT professor and expert in fluid dynamics (1916–2004) *

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...

, American conservative political commentator * Bernard Shapiro, Canadian academic, civil servant *

Beth Shapiro Beth Alison Shapiro (born 1976) is an American evolutionary molecular biologist. She is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Shapiro's work has centered on the analysis of ...

, evolutionary biologist * Cal Shapiro, vocalist, Timeflies * Carl Shapiro, (born 1955) UC Berkeley economist and mathematician *

Carl J. Shapiro Carl J. Shapiro (February 15, 1913 – March 7, 2021) was an American businessman and philanthropist. In 1939 he founded Kay Windsor, Inc. in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and built it into one of the largest women's clothing companies in the cou ...

(born 1913), Boston philanthropist * Carol Harris-Shapiro, Reconstructionist rabbi * Charles S. Shapiro, American diplomat *

Daniel B. Shapiro Daniel Benjamin "Dan" Shapiro (born August 1, 1969) is an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on March 29, 2011, and confirmed by the Senate on May 29. ...

, U.S. ambassador to Israel * David Shapiro (disambiguation), several people *

Dmitry Shapiro Dmitry Shapiro is an American entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of GoMeta, Inc., based in San Diego. GoMeta owns Koji an App Store of social mini-apps that are added to various Links In Bios. He also created the video sharing site Veoh in 200 ...

, entrepreneur, inventor, Googler * Ehud Shapiro, Israeli computer scientist *

Florence Shapiro Florence Donald Shapiro (born May 2, 1948) is an American politician from Texas, a Republican former member of the Texas Senate. From 1993 to 1995, she represented the 2nd District and from 1995 to 2013, the 8th District, which includes several ...

, American politician *

Francine Shapiro Francine Shapiro (February 18, 1948 – June 16, 2019) was an American psychologist and educator who originated and developed eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a form of psychotherapy for resolving the symptoms of traumati ...

, American psychologist *

Fred R. Shapiro Fred Richard Shapiro is an American academic and writer working as the editor of ''The Yale Book of Quotations'', ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations'', and several other books. Education Shapiro earned a Bachelor of Science de ...

, American legal librarian and editor *

George Shapiro George Shapiro (May 18, 1931 – May 26, 2022) was an American talent manager and television producer. He was among the most successful managers in show business in the United States, best known for representing Jerry Seinfeld, Carl Reiner and A ...

, 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 Ian Shapiro (born September 29, 1956) is a Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He served as the Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center at Yale University from 2004 to 2019. He is known primarily for interventio ...

, American political scientist *

Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro (Hebrew: איליה פיאטצקי-שפירו; russian: Илья́ Ио́сифович Пяте́цкий-Шапи́ро; 30 March 1929 – 21 February 2009) was a Soviet-born Israeli mathematician. During a career that sp ...

, mathematician (1929–2009) * Irwin Shapiro (1911–1981), American writer and translator *

Irwin I. Shapiro Irwin Ira Shapiro is an American astrophysicist and Timken University Professor at Harvard University. He has been a professor at Harvard since 1982. He was the director of the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian from 1982 to 20 ...

, astrophysicist * Irving Shapiro (1904–1931), one of the

Shapiro Brothers Meyer (1908–1931), Irving (1904–1931) and William Shapiro (1911–1934), collectively known as the Shapiro Brothers were the leaders of a group of Jewish-American mobsters from New York City and based in Williamsburg. Well established in ...

, New York City labor racketeers * Irving S. Shapiro, attorney, former CEO of Dupont * J. David Shapiro, American filmmaker and stand-up comedian *

Jacob Shapiro Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro (May 5, 1899 – June 9, 1947) was a New York mobster who, with his partner Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, controlled industrial labor racketeering in New York for two decades and established the Murder, Inc. organization. Early ...

, mobster *

James S. Shapiro James S. Shapiro (born 1955) is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University who specializes in Shakespeare and the Early Modern period. Shapiro has served on the faculty at Columbia University since 1985, teaching Shakes ...

(born 1955), American professor of English Literature *

Jeremy J. Shapiro Jeremy J. Shapiro (born 1940), is an American academic, a professor emeritus at Fielding Graduate University who works in the area of critical theory, critical social theory with emphasis on the social and cultural effects of information technolo ...

, professor at Fielding Graduate University. *

Jesse Shapiro Jesse M. Shapiro is an American economist and academic. He is the George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard University, having previously held the George S. and Nancy B. Parker Professorship at Brown University. In ...

, American economist * Jim Shapiro (attorney), attorney *

Jim Shapiro (drummer) Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", th ...

, American musician, drummer of Veruca Salt *

Joel Shapiro Joel Shapiro (born September 27, 1941 New York City, New York) is an American sculptor renowned for his dynamic work composed of simple rectangular shapes. The artist is classified as a Minimalist as demonstrated in his works, which were mostly ...

, artist and sculptor *

Jordan Shapiro Jordan Shapiro (born November 15, 1977) is an American author known for his work on parenting, education, gender, and technology. Early life and education Shapiro grew up in Philadelphia. He earned a B.A. from Bard College, an M.A. and a Ph.D. ...

, American author and educator * Joseph N. Shapiro (1887—1961), urologist, one of the founders of the urologic oncology in Russia *

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the Pennsylvania Attorney General since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the governor-elect of Pennsylvania. Raised in Montgomery ...

, American politician and lawyer *

Jonathan Shapiro Jonathan Shapiro (born 27 October 1958) is a South African cartoonist, known as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician ...

, South African political cartoonist *

Judith Shapiro Judith R. Shapiro (born January 24, 1942) is a former President of Barnard College, a liberal arts college for women at Columbia University; as President of Barnard, she was also an academic dean within the university. She was also a professor ...

, former president of Barnard College *

Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry Judy Shapiro-Ikenberry (born September 3, 1942) is a former long distance runner. Shapiro-Ikenberry won the 1967 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Las Vegas Marathon, and was the first USA Marathon Championships winner for women in 1974, at the AAU Nat ...

(born 1942), American long-distance runner *

Justine Shapiro Justine Shapiro (born March 20, 1963) is a South African-born American actress, filmmaker, writer, hostess and producer, who was one of several main hosts of the Pilot Productions travel/adventure series '' Globe Trekker'' (also called ''Pilot Gu ...

, Documentary Filmmaker and Globe Trekker host *

Karl Shapiro Karl Jay Shapiro (November 10, 1913 – May 14, 2000) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1945 for his collection ''V-Letter and Other Poems''. He was appointed the fifth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the ...

, United States poet * Laurie Gwen Shapiro, American novelist and filmmaker *

Lee Shapiro Lee Shapiro (1949–1987) was an American documentary filmmaker. His one feature-length film, ''Nicaragua Was Our Home'', was released in 1986. It was filmed in Nicaragua among the Miskito people, Miskito Indians who were then fighting against Nica ...

, American film maker, killed by the Soviet military in Afghanistan * 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 Marc B. Shapiro (Hebrew: מלך שפירא, born 1966) is a professor and the author of various books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, theology, and rabbinic literature. Education and career Shapiro received his BA at Brandeis Unive ...

, professor of Judaic Studies at University of Scranton * Mark Shapiro (disambiguation), several people *

Marla Shapiro Marla Shapiro CM, is a Canadian medical doctor, best known as a health journalist for CTV News Channel and formerly''The Globe and Mail''. Her reports on health and medical issues have also aired on ''Canada AM'' and on CTV's daytime talk show ' ...

, Canadian medical doctor, author and health journalist (print, television) *

Meir Shapiro Yehuda Meir Shapiro ( pl, Majer Jehuda Szapira; March 3, 1887 – October 27, 1933), was a prominent Polish Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, also known as the Lubliner Rav. He is noted for his promotion of the Daf Yomi study program in 1923, ...

, Orthodox rabbi *

Mendel Shapiro Mendel Shapiro is a Jerusalem lawyer and Modern Orthodox Rabbi. He is the author of a halakhic analysis arguing that women could be called to read from the Torah in prayer services with men on Shabbat under certain conditions. His minority viewpo ...

, Modern Orthodox rabbi * Meyer Shapiro (1908–1931), one of the

, New York City labor racketeers * Michael Shapiro (disambiguation), several people *

Mordechai Shapiro Mordechai Shapiro (born 1989) is an American singer, songwriter and entertainer in the Orthodox pop industry. He has been described as having the "ability to do things with his voice no one else in this business can" by Jewish music producer Yitz ...

, American singer *

Nat Mayer Shapiro Nathan Mayer Shapiro (June 2, 1919 – December 2, 2005) was an American visual artist. Art Nat Mayer Shapiro’s art is best known for his complex paintings on paper and canvas that may incorporate structural and whimsical imagery among ar ...

, American visual artist *

Neal Shapiro Neal B. Shapiro (born March 9, 1958) is the President and CEO of WNET. He worked previously as the President of NBC News and the executive producer for ''Dateline NBC''. Prior to this Shapiro spent 13 years as a news producer at ABC News. Early ...

, president of PBS station Thirteen/WNET New York City. *

Neal Shapiro (equestrian) Neal Shapiro (born July 22, 1945) is an American equestrian and was a silver medalist in team jumping and Bronze medalist in individual jumping in the 1972 Munich Olympics, where he became the first American Equestrian jumper to win two medals a ...

(born 1945), American equestrian and Olympic medalist *

Nevin Shapiro Nevin Karey Shapiro (born April 13, 1969) is a convicted felon who currently is imprisoned for orchestrating a $930 million Ponzi scheme. According to interviews, he engaged in rampant violations of NCAA rules over eight years as a booster for Un ...

(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 Norman Zalmon Shapiro was an American mathematician, who was the co-author of the Rice–Shapiro theorem. Education Shapiro obtained a BS in Mathematics at University of Illinois in 1952. Shapiro spent the summer of 1954 at Bell Laboratories in ...

(1932–2021), American mathematician and computer scientist * Paul Shapiro (disambiguation), several people * Peter Shapiro (disambiguation), several people * Ralph Shapiro (1908–1974), New York politician * Rashi Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi at Loch Sheldrake Synagogue, Jewish folk-rock musician, psychologist *

Refael Shapiro Rabbi Refael Shapiro (1837–1921) was the famed Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, (now Valozhyn, Belarus), and a son-in-law of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the ''Netziv'').Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Volozh ...

, Orthodox rabbi *

Rick Shapiro Rick Shapiro (born April 13, 1959) is a Los Angeles-based comedian and actor. Life and career Shapiro was born in New Jersey. Spending his early years in New York City and New Jersey, Shapiro started his career in the early 1980s as a comedia ...

, comedian and actor * Robert Shapiro (disambiguation), several people *

Robert Schapire Robert Elias Schapire is an American computer scientist, former David M. Siegel '83 Professor in the computer science department at Princeton University, and has recently moved to Microsoft Research. His primary specialty is theoretical and app ...

, 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 Samantha "Sami" Shapiro (born May 18, 1993) is an American gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US Women's National Gymnastics Team. She was the 2007 U.S. junior uneven bars champion, 2008 U.S. junior uneven bars and balance beam champion, ...

(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 Sharon Shapiro is an American former gymnast. She won five gold medals at the 1977 Maccabiah Games. In 1978, she was the U.S. National Champion in the vault. She was a two-time National Collegiate All-Around Champion. In 1981, she won the Honda-B ...

, American gymnast * Shmuel Shapiro (born 1974), French Chassidic-Jewish singer and Hazan. *

Sidney Shapiro Sidney Shapiro () (December 23, 1915 – October 18, 2014) was an American-born Chinese lawyer, translator, actor and writer who lived in China from 1947 to 2014. He lived in Beijing for more than 50 years and eventually became a member of the ...

, Chinese author and translator of American descent * Stanley J. Shapiro, professor Emeritus of Marketing at Simon Fraser University * Steve Shapiro, American music producer *

Stewart Shapiro Stewart Shapiro (; born 1951) is O'Donnell Professor of Philosophy at the Ohio State University and distinguished visiting professor at the University of Connecticut. He is a leading figure in the philosophy of mathematics where he defends the a ...

, philosopher and logician * Stuart Loren Shapiro, better known as

Todd Loren Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporate ...

(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 *

Ted Shapiro Ted Shapiro (October 31, 1899 – May 26, 1980) was a United States popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher. Early life Shapiro was born on October 31, 1899 in New York City. He became a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and accompa ...

(1899–1980), U.S. popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher * Theodore Shapiro (psychiatrist), psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in New York *

Theodore Shapiro (composer) Theodore Michael Shapiro (born September 29, 1971) is an American composer best known for his film scores. He is a frequent collaborator of directors Ben Stiller, Paul Feig, Jay Roach, Karyn Kusama, and Rawson Marshall Thurber, and won the 2 ...

, 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

, New York City labor racketeers

Other uses

* "Miss Shapiro", a song by 801 from the album ''

801 Live ''801 Live'' is the first live album by 801. It was originally released by Island Records in the UK (cat. no. ILPS 9444) in November 1976. It was subsequently released by Polydor Records in North America (cat. no PD-1-6148) in March 1978. In ...

References

{{surname Jewish surnames Surnames Yiddish-language surnames he:שפירא

Etymology

Notable people surnamed Shapiro

Other uses

See also

References