Spiro (name)
Spiro is a surname with a variety of origins, as well as a given name among Greek-speaking populations, Albanians, Montenegrins, Macedonians and the Christians of Lebanon.
Origins
As a Greek name, Spiro may also be spelled Spyro. It comes from the Greek Spiros/Spyros/Speros (Greek: Σπύρος), with a nominative final "s" that is usually dropped when Anglicised. It is a male given name fairly common in Greek-speaking population (Greece especially in Corfu whose patron saint is Saint Spyridon, in Cyprus, Greek diaspora) as well as among the Christians of Lebanon where it is a common first and last name. It is a shortened form of the archaic-sounding Spyridon (Σπυρίδων), which means in ancient Greek "basket used to carry seeds" (Σπυρί, grain, seed). The Greek diminutives for Spirydon is, Pipi (Πίπης ) and Pipeto (Πιπέτο).
Špiro is also a male Montenegrin name.
In Germany, the surname Spiro originated as a corruption of Speyer, the name of a town in the Rhineland. It is one of a number of Jewish surnames that originated this way, along with the better-known Shapiro.[1]
Surname
People with the surname Spiro include:
- Alyson Spiro, British actress
- Ellen Spiro (b. 1964), American documentary filmmaker
- Eugene Spiro (1874–1972), German and American painter
- György Spiró (b. 1946), Hungarian dramatist, novelist and essayist
- Harold Spiro (1925–1996), English songwriter
- Herbert Spiro (1924–2010), German-born American political scientist
- Jordana Spiro (b. 1977), American actress
- Lev L. Spiro, American film and television director
- Karl Spiro (1867–1932), German biologist and physical chemist
- Mark Spiro, American songwriter, musician, and record producer
- Melford Spiro (b. 1920), American cultural anthropologist
- Peter Spiro, American legal scholar
- Samantha Spiro (b. 1968), British actor
- Samuel Spiro (?-1814), Greek-born Argentine naval captain
- ARA Spiro (P-43), the corvette of the Argentine Navy named after Samuel Spiro
- Stephen Spiro (1939–2007), American political activist
Given name
Spiro
People with the given name Spiro include:
- Spiro Agnew (1918–1996), thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States
- Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer
- Spyros Kastanas, Cypriot footballer
- Spyros Kyprianou (1932–2002), former President of Cyprus
- Spiros Latsis, Greek businessman
- Spiros Livathinos (b. 1955), Greek football player, coach, and current head scout
- Spyridon Louis (1873–1940), Greek gold medallist of the first modern Olympic Marathon
- Spiros Louis Stadium, the Athens Olympic Stadium named after Louis
Spiros/Spyros
- Spiros Marangos, Greek footballer
- Spiros Markezinis (1909–2000), Greek politician
- Spyros Moustakas, Greek writer
- Spyros Paliouras, Greek writer
- Spyros B. Pavlides, Greek geologist
- Spyros Samaras (1861–1917), Greek composer of the Olympic Anthem
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes (b. 1933), former US Senator representing Maryland
- Spyros Skouras (1893–1971), Greek-American chairman of Twentieth Century Fox from 1942 to 1962
- Spyros Spyromilios, Greek Gendarmerie officer
- Spyros Vallas (b. 1981), Greek football player
- Spiros Velentzas, American Greek Mob Boss
- Spiros Vondas, fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire
- Spyros Vrettos, Greek poet
- Spiros Zodhiates, Greek-American author
See also
- Spirou
- Spira, Spiru, a Jewish name sometimes also spelled "Spiro"
- Schapiro, Shapiro
- Schapira, Shapira
- Schapire, Spire