Notable Thessalonians
The following were born in or associated with Thessaloniki. Some became famous after they moved away.
A
- Aaron Abiob (1535–1605), rabbi
- Maurice Abravanel (1903–1993), conductor
- Isaac Adarbi (c. 1510 – c. 1584), casuist
- Nikolaos Aggelakis (1905–1986), footballer
- Mary Akrivopoulou (born 1975), actress
- Shlomo Alkabetz (1505–1584), poet, kabbalist and rabbi
- Moses Almosnino (c. 1515 – c. 1580), rabbi
- Moses Alpalas (16th century), rabbi
- Saul Amarel (1928–2002) , pioneer of artificial intelligence
- Moses Amarillo (18th century), rabbi
- Manolis Anagnostakis (1925–2005), poet
- Anthimos Ananiadis (born 1985), actor
- Georgios Anatolakis
- Antipater of Thessalonica
- Cahit Arf, mathematician
- Aristarchus, saint
- Konstantinos Armenopoulos, Byzantine jurist whose book, the Hexabiblos , influenced Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek civic code
- Salamo Arouch, boxer
- Ḥayyim Asahel (d. before 1746) rabbi, author
- Nikolas Asimos
- Michael Astrapas and Eutychios, painters
- Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey
B
- Loukas Barlos
- Refet Bele, an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army
- Mehmet Cavit Bey, Ottoman Sabbatean economist and politician who was executed for alleged involvement in an assassination attempt against Kemal Atatürk
- Nâzım Bey, politician and physician who was executed for alleged involvement in an assassination attempt against Kemal Atatürk
- Rene Ben Sussan, illustrator
- Isaak Benrubi, philosopher
- Albert Bourla
- Yiannis Boutaris
- Salih Bozok, an officer of the Ottoman Army, later the Turkish Army and a politician of the Republic of Turkey
- Fuat Bulca, an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army
C
- Nicholas Cabasilas, Byzantine mystic
- Andronicus Callistus, scholar, pioneer of the Renaissance
- David Samuel Carasso, 19th-century Jewish traveler and writer
- Emmanuel Carasso, freemason, Young Turk, anti-Zionist, and proponent for internationalization of Thessaloniki
- Isaac Carasso, founder of Groupe Danone (Dannon yogurt)
- Manolis Chiotis, composer and musician
- Nuri Conker, politician and an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army
- Auguste Corteau, pen name of the Greek author Petros Hadjopoulos
- Demetrius Cydones, prime minister of the Byzantine Empire
- Prochorus Cydones, monk, theologian, and linguist
- Saint Cyril, co-creator of the Cyrillic alphabet
D
- Atanas Dalchev, poet
- Traianos Dellas, footballer
- Saint Demetrius, patron saint of the city
E
F
- Byron Fidetzis, cellist and conductor
G
- Gus G., guitarist
- Artemi Gavezou, rhythmic gymnast and Olympic silver medalist in 2016
- Theodorus Gaza, humanist and translator of ancient Greek texts
- Katerina Georgiadou
- Philippe Gigantès, Canadian politician
- Evi Gkotzaridis, historian [1] [2]
- Şükrü Naili Gökberk, military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies
- Demetris Th. Gotsis
- Robert Guérin du Rocher, a Jesuit priest, who was beatified by Pope Pius XI in October 1926 was a pastor in the city. [3]
- Aka Gündüz, poet, composer, and politician
H
- Costas Hajihristos
- Nâzım Hikmet, poet
- Olympia Hopsonidou, model
I
- Afet İnan, historian and sociologist
- Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach
- Isidore of Kiev, patriarch of Russia
J
K
- Eva Kaili, Member of Parliament and newscaster
- Giannis Kalatzis, singer
- Andronikos Kallistos, teacher of Greek literature
- Takis Kanellopoulos, director
- Christos Karipidis, footballer
- Harry Klynn, comedian [4]
- Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, footballer
- Mary Kostakidis, Australian news anchor
- Christos Kostis, footballer
- Georgios Koudas, footballer
- Dinos Kouis, footballer
- Stavros Koujioumtzis, composer
L
- Zoe Laskari, actress
- George-Emmanuel Lazaridis, pianist
- Leo the Mathematician
- Moshe Levy, chemist
M
- Macedonius of Thessalonica
- Thomas Magister, scholar and grammarian
- Dionysis Makris, singer
- Markos Mamalakis, economist
- Mordechai Mano
- Marinella, singer
- Marsheaux, synthpop duo
- Margalit Matitiahu
- Rabbi Samuel de Medina, Talmudist and author
- Saint Methodius, co-creator of the Cyrillic alphabet
N
- Nicolaus Cabasilas, Byzantine mystic
- Nightrage, metal band
O
- Salih Omurtak, fourth Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces
- Clio-Danae Othoneou, actress, musician, and pianist
- Hatice Özgener, school teacher, politician, and one of the first 18 female members of the Turkish parliament
P
- Alketas Panagoulias
- Dimitrios Pandermalis
- Ioannis Papafis
- Vassilios Papageorgopoulos, champion sprinter
- Stelios Papathemelis
- David Pardo, Dutch rabbi, born at Salonica
- Joseph Pardo, rabbi
- Halil Rifat Pasha, Ottoman statesman and a Grand Vizier
- Natasa Pazaïti
- Aaron Hakohen Perahyah, rabbi and writer
- Philippus, epigrammatist
- Patriarch Philotheus I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
- Philippus of Thessalonica
- Pyrrhus of Thessalonica, fortificator (ca. 620–630 AD) [5]
- Evangelia Psarra, archer
Q
R
- Emilios Riadis, classical composer
- Georgios Roubanis
S
- Sabiha Sertel, professional journalist and publisher in Turkey
- Raphaël Salem, mathematician
- Dimitris Salpingidis, footballer
- Victoria Samanidou, analytical chemist and professor
- Christos Sartzetakis, President of the Hellenic Republic
- Dionysis Savvopoulos, composer
- Ioannis Sfairopoulos (born 1967), basketball coach in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and EuroLeague
- Solomon Sirilio, rabbi and Talmud commentator
- Ahmet Zeki Soydemir, officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army
- Anthoula Stathopoulou-Vafopoulou, poet and playwright
- Yannis Stavrou, contemporary artist
- Damaskinos Stouditis, patriarchal exarch of Aitolia
- Nathanael Symeonides, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Chicago
T
- Hasan Tahsin, Ottoman patriot of Jewish Dönmeh descent who was resisted to Greek invasion of Smyrna (İzmir) after World War I
- Calliope Tatti, socialite
- Natassa Theodoridou, singer
- Dimo Todorovski, sculptor and artist
- Makis Triantafyllopoulos
- Demetrius Triclinius, scholar
- Dimosthenis Tampakos, gymnast who won gold medal in 2004 Olympic Games
- Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, businessman and FIDE Master (chess)
U
- Hasan Tahsin Uzer, bureaucrat
V
W
X
Y
- Ahmet Emin Yalman, journalist and author
Z
- Grigorios Zalykis, scholar, writer, and diplomat
- Anastasia Zampounidis, German TV personality
- Nikos Zisis, basketball player