Spira (name)

Spira is a surname with a variety of origins. In Germany, the surname Spira originated as a corruption of Speyer, the name of a town in the Rhineland.

The surname found particular historical significance among the Jewish communities of Central and Eastern Europe, with many notable Rabbis claiming this name. The Spira family directly descends from 11th century rabbi Rashi, and therefore is in the Davidic line.[1] Additionally, the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hassidic Judaism, is said to have claimed that the Spira family is one of three pure lineages of among the Jewish nation (being Israelites), the others being the Horowitz family (who are Levites) and the Rappaport family (who are Kohanim).[2]

Spira is one of a number of Jewish surnames that originated in Speyer, including Spiro, Shapira, and Shapiro.

Notable people with this name include:

  1. ^ "THE "RASHI" LEGACY (Kalonymos, Treves, Luria and Spira Families) genealogy project". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  2. ^ Dynner, Glenn (1997). "Yikhus and the Early Hasidic Movement" (PDF). Department of Jewish Studies at McGiII University.