Spiro is a given name among Greek-speaking populations, Albanians, and the Christians of Lebanon. It also is a surname with a variety of origins.
As a name
As a Greek name, Spiro may also be spelled Spyro. It comes from the Greek Spiros/Spyros/Speros (Greek: Σπύρος, Greek pronunciation: [ˈspiros]), a shortened form of the archaic-sounding Spyridon (Greek: Σπυρίδων, Greek pronunciation: [spiˈriðon]), which means "basket used to carry seeds" (from σπυρί, grain, seed) in ancient Greek. It has a nominative final "s" that is usually dropped when Anglicised. Spiros/Spyros is a male given name fairly common in Greek-speaking population (in Greece, especially in Corfu, whose patron saint is Saint Spyridon, in Cyprus and among the Greek diaspora) as well as among the Christians of Lebanon where it is a common first and last name. The Greek diminutives for Spirydon are Pipis (Πίπης) and Pipeto (Πιπέτο).
Špiro is also a masculine given name in Croatia and Montenegro.
Spiro
People with the given name Spiro include:
- Spiro Agnew (1918–1996), thirty-ninth vice president of the United States
- Spiro Moisiu (1900-1981), Albanian general
- Spiro Malas, Greek-American actor
- Spiro Malakellis, Australian rules footballer of Greek descent
Spiros/Spyros
People with the given name Spiros include:
- Spyridon Louis (1873–1940), Greek gold medallist of the first modern Olympic Marathon
- Spiros Louis Stadium, the Athens Olympic Stadium named after Louis
- Spiros Alexandros Bogdos, Greek cricketer
- 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
- 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
- Spyros Gogolos, Greek footballer
- Spyros Kastanas, Cypriot footballer
- Spyros Koulkoudinas, Greek politician
- Spyros Kyriakis, Greek politician
- Spyros Kyprianou (1932–2002), former President of Cyprus
- Spiros Latsis, Greek businessman
- Spiros Livathinos (b. 1955), Greek football player, coach, and current head scout
As a middle name
People with the names Spiro/Spiros/Spyros as a middle name include:
- George Spiro Dibie (1932-2022), American cinematographer
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes (1933–2020), former US Senator representing Maryland
As a surname
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]
People/objects/concepts with the surname Spiro include:
- Alyson Spiro, British actress
- Betty Miller (née Spiro) (1910–1965), Irish author
- Bjørn Spiro (1909–1999), Danish film actor
- 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
- Joseph Moses Spiro (c. 1770–1830), Austrian rabbi
- 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 (1920–2014), American cultural anthropologist
- Michel Spiro, French physicist
- Peter Spiro, American legal scholar
- Samantha Spiro (b. 1968), British actor
- Samuel Spiro (d. 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
See also
- Spirou
- Spira, a Jewish name sometimes also spelled "Spiro"
- Schapiro, Shapiro, Jewish surname
- Schapira, Shapira, Jewish surname
- Spire
References
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)