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Alexander Beider, the widely respected expert on Jewish surnames from central and eastern Europe, says that the surname Shapiro is a Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) surname, one of a number of variations derived from the Yiddish name of the German city of Speyer.

Others believe that the names Shapiro, Sapiro, Schapiro and similar are rooted in the Sephardic name "Saphiro" -- the old Spanish word for sapphire.

Since the name occurs very widely, both origins could be true; one for some families and the other for other families.

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14y ago

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