The surname Shapiro
A Yiddish surname, carried by 24,335 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ʃəˈpɪɹoʊ/ 3 syllables Soundex S160
Origin
Yiddish origin
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."
One of 31 Yiddish surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 24,335 people named Shapiro in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 12,687 Americans. That is down 1.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 24,712.
Who is named Shapiro
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
96% of people named Shapiro identified as white (not Hispanic), 1.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.1% as two or more races.
- White (not Hispanic) 96%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.8%
- Two or more races 1.1%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
- Black (not Hispanic) 0.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%
Famous Shapiros
23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Ben ShapiroAmerican conservative political commentator, born 1984
- Josh ShapiroAmerican politician (born 1973)
- Lucy ShapiroAmerican developmental biologist, born 1940
- Irwin I. ShapiroAmerican astrophysicist, born 1929
- Theodore ShapiroAmerican composer (born 1971)
- Beth ShapiroAmerican evolutionary molecular biologist (born 1976)
- Francine ShapiroAmerican psychologist (1948–2019)
- Robert Leslie ShapiroAmerican lawyer (1942-)
- Karl ShapiroAmerican poet and essayist (1913-2000)
- Joel ShapiroAmerican sculptor (1941–2025)
- Michael ShapiroAmerican film and voice actor, born 1965
- Ian ShapiroAmerican political theorist, born 1956
Notable Shapiros come mostly from the United States (21) and the United Kingdom (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Other Yiddish surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Shapiro come from?
- 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…
- How common is the surname Shapiro?
- 24,335 people in the United States had the surname Shapiro in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 12,687 Americans. It ranked 1,469th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Shapiro?
- In the 2010 Census, 96% of people named Shapiro identified as white (not Hispanic), and 1.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
- Who is the most famous person named Shapiro?
- Ben Shapiro, American conservative political commentator, followed by Josh Shapiro.
- Where is the surname Shapiro most common?
- Wikidata records people named Shapiro in the United States and the United Kingdom.
- How do you pronounce Shapiro?
- Shapiro is /ʃəˈpɪɹoʊ/, 3 syllables.
- Is the surname Shapiro getting more or less common?
- Less common. 24,712 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 24,335 in 2010, down 1.5%.
- What are other spellings of Shapiro?
- Sapiro, Schapira, Schapiro, Shapeero, Shapero and Shapera.