Shapiro is a Yiddish surname which is said to be derived from the medieval name of Speyer, Germany.[1] However, 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.
In Aramaic, "Shapeer" means "fine".
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)
- Ascher H. Shapiro, MIT professor and expert in the 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
- Christian Shapiro, American writer
- Darin Shapiro, American wakeboarder
- David Shapiro (poet), American poet
- David Shapiro, American documentary maker (Keep the River on Your Right), brother of Laurie Gwen Shapiro
- David Shapiro financer of marquette
- Ehud Shapiro, Israeli computer scientist
- Elisha Shapiro, American neo-Dada artist & presidential candidate.
- Ephraim Shapiro,Orthodox rabbi
- 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
- Helen Shapiro, British singer
- Howard Shapiro, International eruv expert
- Ian Shapiro, American political scientist
- Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro, mathematician (1929-2009)
- Irwin I. Shapiro, astrophysicist
- Israel Shapiro, convicted sex offender
- Jacob Shapiro, Jewish Mobster
- James Shapiro, director of the Clinical Islet Transplant Program at the University of Alberta
- James S. Shapiro, professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and non-fiction author
- Jeremy Shapiro
- Jeremy J. Shapiro
- Jim Shapiro, musician (Veruca Salt)
- Joel Shapiro
- Jonathan Shapiro, South African political cartoonist
- Justine Shapiro
- 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
- Mark Shapiro, general manager of the Cleveland Indians baseball team
- Meir Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
- Mendel Shapiro
- Meyer Shapiro
- Michael Shapiro
- Michael G. Shapiro
- Michael J. Shapiro
- Nat Mayer Shapiro, American visual artist
- Neal Shapiro
- Norman Shapiro, American mathematician and computer scientist
- Paul Shapiro
- Peter Shapiro (journalist), British music journalist
- Peter Shapiro (financier), New Jersey financial executive and former politician
- Rashi Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi, Jewish folk-rock musician, psychologist
- Refael Shapiro, Orthodox rabbi
- Robert Shapiro, celebrity defense lawyer
- Robert Shapiro (chemist), American chemist
- Robert B. Shapiro, CEO Monsanto 1995-2000, CEO NutraSweet 1982-1990
- Robert J. Shapiro, economist
- Robert H. Shapiro (1935-2004), American chemist
- Sam Shapiro
- Saul Shapiro
- Sidney Shapiro
- Stanley J. Shapiro
- Steve Shapiro, American music producer
- Stewart Shapiro, philosopher and logician
- Ted Shapiro
- Theodore Shapiro
- William Shapiro, government attorney
Other uses
- "Miss Shapiro", a song by 801 from the album 801 Live
References
See also
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