Spiro (name)

Last updated September 25, 2024

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 GreekSpiros/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 (1933–2019), Greek-American actor
Spiro Malakellis (born 1968), 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
Spyridon Michalakis (born 1980), a sinful quantum physicist.
Spiros Alexandros Bogdos, Greek cricketer
Spiros Marangos (born 1967), Greek footballer
Spiros Markezinis (1909–2000), Greek politician
Spyros Moustakas (1914–2002), Greek writer
Spyros Paliouras (1875–1957), 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 (1864–1930), Greek Gendarmerie officer
Spyros Vallas (born 1981), Greek football player
Spiros Velentzas, American Greek Mob Boss
Spyros Vrettos (born 1960), Greek poet
Spiros Zodhiates (1922–2009), Greek-American author
Spyros Gogolos (born 1978), Greek footballer
Spyros Kastanas (born 1962), Cypriot footballer
Spyros Koulkoudinas, Greek politician
Spyros Kyriakis, Greek politician
Spyros Kyprianou (1932–2002), former President of Cyprus
Spiros Latsis (born 1946), Greek businessman
Spiros Livathinos (born 1955), Greek football player, coach, and current head scout

Fictional

Spiros Vondas, fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire

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 Spiro, birth name of Betty Miller (1910–1965), Irish author
Bjørn Spiro (1909–1999), Danish film actor
Ellen Spiro (born 1964), American documentary filmmaker
Eugene Spiro (1874–1972), German and American painter
György Spiró (born 1946), Hungarian dramatist, novelist and essayist
Harold Spiro (1925–1996), English songwriter
Herbert Spiro (1924–2010), German-born American political scientist
Jordana Spiro (born 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 (1957–2024), American songwriter, musician, and record producer
Melford Spiro (1920–2014), American cultural anthropologist
Michel Spiro (born 1946), French physicist
Peter J. Spiro (born 1961), American legal scholar
Samantha Spiro (born 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

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References

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[1] "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)

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