Shapiro 1311840 222524894 2008-06-29T20:29:01Z Sesesq 2043145 '''Shapiro''' is a [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] [[surname]] which occasionally is said to be derived from the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] name of [[Speyer]], [[Germany]].[http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080211201847AAyf0Dn] However, the word Shapiro is [[Aramaic]] (probably derived from the hebrew word ''sapir'' (ספיר), usually translated as "sapphire" but which refers not to the [[sapphire]] gemstone but to the [[lapis lazuli]] and reputed to be the stone which represented the tribe of [[Issachar]] on the breastplate of the high priest of Israel and thus identifying 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]]' commentary on [[Genesis]] 29:17. Onkelos' 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. Notable people with the surname include: * [[Adam Shapiro]], American activist * [[Alex Shapiro]], American composer * [[Andrew 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 * [[Betty Shapiro,DDS]], Dentist and Mother * [[Carl Shapiro]], economist and mathematician * [[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 * [[Dr.Doug Shapiro]], Anesthesiologist * [[Ehud Shapiro]], scientist * [[Elisha Shapiro]], American neo-Dada artist & presidential candidate. * [[Ephraim Shapiro]],Orthodox rabbi * [[Eric Shapiro]], American writer * [[Florence Shapiro]], American politician * [[Fred Shapiro]], American lawyer and fraudster * [[Fred R. Shapiro]], American legal librarian and editor * [[George Shapiro]], American Talent Producer * [[Greg Shapiro]], Broadcast Engineer and Real Estate Investor * [[Harold S. Shapiro]], mathematics professor * [[Harold T. Shapiro]], American university president * [[Helen Shapiro]], British singer * [[Ian Shapiro]], American political scientist * [[Ilya Pyatetskii-Shapiro]], mathematician * [[Irwin I. Shapiro]], astrophysicist * [[Ephraim Shapiro#Israel Shapiro|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 * [[Jamian Shapiro]], American musician and filmmaker * [[Jeffrey Shapiro]] * [[Jeremy Shapiro]] * [[Jeremy J. Shapiro]] * [[Jim Shapiro (drummer)|Jim Shapiro]], musician ([[Veruca Salt (band)|Veruca Salt]]) * [[Joel Shapiro]] * [[Jonathan Shapiro]] * [[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 * [[Marvin Shapiro]], Petroleum Geologist and World Traveler * [[Meir Shapiro]], Orthodox rabbi * [[Mendel Shapiro]] * [[Meyer Shapiro]] * [[Michael Shapiro]] * [[Michael G. Shapiro]] * [[Michael J. Shapiro]] * [[Neal Shapiro]] * [[Nelson Shapiro]], American musician * [[Paul Shapiro]] * [[Rashi Shapiro]], Orthodox rabbi, Jewish folk-rock musician, psychologist * [[Refael Shapiro]], Orthodox rabbi * [[Robert Shapiro]], celebrity defense lawyer * [[Robert J. Shapiro]], economist * [[Robert H. Shapiro]], (1935-2004) American chemist * [[Sam Shapiro]] * [[Saul Shapiro]] * [[Shapiro (band)]], American pop-rock band * [[Shel Shapiro]], British singer * [[Sidney Shapiro]] * [[Sophiline Cheam Shapiro]], Cambodian classical dance choreographer * [[Stanley J. Shapiro]] * Steve Shapiro, American Photographer * [[Steve Shapiro]],American music producer * [[Stewart Shapiro]], philosopher and logician * [[Ted Shapiro]] * [[Theodore Shapiro]] * [[William Shapiro]], noted government attorney ==See also== * [[Schapiro]] * [[Spira]] {{surname}} [[Category:Jewish surnames]] [[de:Shapiro]] [[fr:Shapiro]] [[he:שפירא]] [[ja:シャピロ]]