Shapiro

Shapiro, and its variations such as Shapira, Schapiro and Chapiro (in French), is a Yiddish surname.

Etymology

One theory suggests that it derives from Shpira, the Hebrew/Yiddish name for Spira (Hebrew: שפירא‎, pronounced Shpira), the medieval name of Speyer, Germany.^[1][2] The Jewish community of Speyer was an important centre in the development of Ashkenazi culture. Other name variants are Sapiro, Spira, Spira, Spire, Spiro, Spero, Chapiro, Sprai, Szpir, Szpiro, Saphir and Spear. The name "Speyer" 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.

According to another theory, the word Shapiro is Aramaic (probably derived from the Hebrew word sapir (ספיר), usually translated as "sapphire", which refers not to the sapphire gemstone but to the lapis lazuli, and is reputed to be the stone which represented the tribe of Issachar on the breastplate of the high priest of Israel and thus identifies the Shapiro family with that tribe) and appears, for example, in the 11th Century Aramaic-language Jewish religious poem Akdamus a.k.a. Akdamuth (line 45) and in Onkelos's commentary on Genesis 29:17. Onkelos's commentary, believed to have been written around 110 CE, long predated the naming of Speyer (as Spira) in approximately 500 CE, and therefore has given rise to a family tradition that the city was renamed for the family and not vice versa.^{[citation needed]}

In Aramaic, "Shapeer" means "fine".

Notable people

Notable people with the surname include:

• Adam Shapiro, American activist
• Alan Shapiro, American poet
• Alan Shapiro, American education reformer
• Alex Shapiro, American composer
• Ari Shapiro, a reporter with National Public Radio
• Arthur K. Shapiro, psychiatrist and expert on the Tourette syndrome (1923–1995)
• Arthur Shapiro, entamologist and ecologist
• Ascher H. Shapiro, MIT professor and expert in fluid dynamics (1916–2004)
• Ben Shapiro, conservative American political columnist
• Bernard Shapiro, academic, civil servant
• Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist
• Carl Shapiro, (born 1955) UC Berkeley economist and mathematician
• Carl J. Shapiro (born 1913), Boston philanthropist
• Carol Harris-Shapiro, Reconstructionist rabbi
• Chaim Elazar Shapiro, rabbi
• Charles S. Shapiro, American diplomat
• David Shapiro, economist at Pennsylvania State University
• David Shapiro, American poet
• David Shapiro, birth name of Dr. Cat, video game developer
• David I. Shapiro, attorney
• Ehud Shapiro, Israeli computer scientist
• Elisha Shapiro, American neo-Dada artist & presidential candidate.
• Eric Shapiro, American writer
• Florence Shapiro, American politician
• Fred R. Shapiro, American legal librarian and editor
• George Shapiro, American Talent Producer
• Harold S. Shapiro, mathematics professor
• Harold T. Shapiro, American university president
• Harvey Shapiro, cellist
• Helen Shapiro, British singer
• Ian Shapiro, American political scientist
• Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro, mathematician (1929–2009)
• Irwin I. Shapiro, astrophysicist
• Irving S. Shapiro, attorney, former CEO of Dupont
• J. David Shapiro, American filmmaker and stand-up comedian
• Jacob Shapiro, mobster
• James Shapiro, director of the Clinical Islet Transplant Program at the University of Alberta
• James A. Shapiro, American biologist
• James S. Shapiro (born 1955), professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and non-fiction author
• Jeremy Shapiro, special advisor to the assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Department of State
• Jeremy J. Shapiro, professor at Fielding Graduate University.
• Jesse Shapiro, American economist
• Jim Shapiro, musician (Veruca Salt)
• Joel Shapiro, artist and sculptor
• Jonathan Shapiro, South African political cartoonist
• Judith Shapiro, former president of Barnard College
• Justine Shapiro, Documentary Filmmaker and Globe Trekker host
• Karl Jay Shapiro, United States poet
• Laurie Gwen Shapiro, American novelist and filmmaker
• Lee Shapiro, American film maker, killed by the Soviet military in Afghanistan
• Linda Hopkins Shapiro, better known as Tera Patrick, a former American pornographic actress
• Marc B. Shapiro, professor of Judaic Studies at University of Scranton
• Mark Shapiro, general manager of the Cleveland Indians baseball team
• Mark H. Shapiro, professor of Physics, Emeritus at California State University, Fullerton
• Marla Shapiro, Canadian medical doctor, author and health journalist (print, television)
• Meir Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
• Mendel Shapiro, Modern Orthodox Rabbi
• Meyer Shapiro, one of the Shapiro Brothers, New York City labor racketeer
• Michael Shapiro, voice actor known for the Half-Life series of computer games
• Michael Jeffrey Shapiro, composer and music director of the Chappaqua Orchestra
• Michael J. Shapiro, professor of Political Science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
• Nat Mayer Shapiro, American visual artist
• Neal Shapiro, president of PBS station Thirteen/WNET New York City.
• Nevin Shapiro (born 1969), convicted American fraudster and central figure in the 2011 University of Miami athletics scandal
• Norma Levy Shapiro, United States federal judge
• Norman Shapiro, American mathematician and computer scientist
• Paul Shapiro (activist), American animal activist
• Paul Shapiro (director), American television director
• Paul Shapiro (musician), American Klezmer musician

• Peter Shapiro, British music journalist
• Peter Shapiro, New Jersey financial executive and former politician
• Rashi Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi, Jewish folk-rock musician, psychologist
• Refael Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
• Rick Shapiro, comedian and actor
• Robert Shapiro (born 1942), American lawyer best known for representing numerous celebrities
• Robert Shapiro, American chemist
• Robert B. Shapiro, CEO Monsanto 1995-2000, CEO NutraSweet 1982-1990
• Robert J. Shapiro, economist
• Robert H. Shapiro (1935–2004), American chemist
• Samantha Harris Shapiro, American TV host (Dancing with the Stars, Entertainment Tonight)
• Samuel H. Shapiro (1907–1987), 34th Governor of Illinois
• Saul Shapiro, president of the Metropolitan Television Alliance, LLC (MTVA)
• Seymour Shapiro, an American chemist who pioneered development of pharmaceuticals for use against diabetes
• Sidney Shapiro, an American author and translator
• Stanley J. Shapiro, professor Emeritus of Marketing at Simon Fraser University
• Steve Shapiro, American music producer
• Stewart Shapiro, philosopher and logician
• Sumner Shapiro, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral and former director of the Office of Naval Intelligence
• Ted Shapiro, U.S. popular music composer, pianist, and sheet music publisher
• Theodore Shapiro, composer
• Todd Shapiro, Canadian radio show host
• William Shapiro, government attorney

Other uses

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

References

See also

• Schapiro
• Shapero
• Shapira
• Spero
• Spira

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