Shapiro

Meanings

1. A surname from Yiddish.

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish שאַפּיראָ (shapiro). This surname is derived from the Medieval name of Speyer, Germany (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 was one of three leading cities central to the development of Ashkenazi culture, the others being Worms and Mainz. 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 שפירא (Shappirā), meaning "handsome."