Shapiro

Shapiro, and its variations such as Shapira, Schapiro, Schapira, Sapira, Sapiro, Szapiro (in Polish) and Chapiro (in French), is an Ashkenazi Jewish 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, Spire, Spiro, Spero, Chapiro, Sprai, Szpir, Szpiro, Saphir, Sapir 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.

Notable people surnamed Shapiro

Other uses

See also

References

  1. ancestry.com search for Shapiro
  2. (Kaganoff, 1977) Source: Saul Zeichner,27 November 2000, Revised 10 April 2009 http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kolomea/nameorigin.htm