The Shapiro surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 24,335 people carried this name — #1,469 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,100 people counted. That is down 2% from 24,712 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Shapiro surname

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.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shapiro» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In the Nordic population registers

38 people named Shapiro is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 38

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Shapiro in American newspapers,
1918–1928.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Shapiro
Daily Kennebec Journal 1921-04-13
Newspaper page from Middlebury Register carrying the name Shapiro
Middlebury Register 1918-06-07
Newspaper page from The Milwaukee Leader carrying the name Shapiro
The Milwaukee Leader 1928-06-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,312 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shapiro in Australian newspapers,
1880s–2000s.

1,538 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shapiro. The most, 461, date from the 1950s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 709
Victoria 637
ACT (Canberra) 72
Queensland 65
Western Australia 26
South Australia 16
Tasmania 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shapiro.

Who carried it

People named Shapiro,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Refael Shapiro
    Refael Shapiro 1837–1921 · rabbi
  • Constantin Shapiro
    Constantin Shapiro 1839–1900 · photographer
  • Herman S. Shapiro
    Herman S. Shapiro 1850– · composer
  • Boris Shapirov
    Boris Shapirov 1851–1915 · physician
  • Jakov Shapiro
    Jakov Shapiro 1865– · politician
  • Perry Shapiro d. 2019 · economist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shapiro,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States9,310 records

9,310 records of the Shapiro name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5,734
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,648
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 1,351
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 347
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 179
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 49
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Julius Shapiro

    Born 1924 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; machinist from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1981, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Latel Shapiro

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Pennsylvania from Boulogne, aged 27; butcher. From Benadon, Russia; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Fred Shapiro

    U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Born 1933, died 2001; buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 9,310 records for Shapiro in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Canada21 records

21 records of the Shapiro name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eve Jane Shapiro

    Died 1973 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 60.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Louis Shapiro

    Buried in 1988 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record David Shapiro

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 21 records for Shapiro in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia12 records

12 records of the Shapiro name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 8
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Solomon Shapiro

    Cabinet maker of Sth Caulfield, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Shapiro

    Arrived in Victoria in 1897 aboard the Orizaba, aged 22.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Freda Shapiro

    Industrial engineer of St. Kilda, Victoria; died 1997.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Shapiro in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Shapiro name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Wolf Shapiro

    Born 1909 in Poland; died 1996 in Joinville-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Julie Shapiro

    Born 1911 in Russia; died 1944 in Poland.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Samuel Shapiro

    Born 1913 in the United States; died 1999 in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Shapiro name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record M. Shapiro

    Tank Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shapiro.

When the index is not enough

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