Spero is an Italian surname, originating in the Campania

Campania

Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

 region of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It means "I Hope" in Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

 and is part of the following Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 proverb: Dum Spiro Spero

Dum spiro spero

Dum spiro spero means "While I breathe, I hope" in Latin and is generally attributed to Cicero.It is a motto of various places and families.-States and Towns:*The notable origin of the motto is St Andrews, Fife, Scotland...

 (While I Breathe, I Hope).

Spero is sometimes a variant of the more common Italian surname Spera.

Spero is also one of the name variants from the first Jews who settled in the city of Speyer

Jewish community of Speyer

The history of the Jews in Speyer, Germany, reaches back over 1,000 years.In the Middle Ages the city of Speyer, Germany, was home to one of the most significant Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. After many ups and downs throughout history the community was totally wiped out 1940 in the...

, Germany, at the end of the eleventh century (and were compelled to leave in the middle of the fitteenth century). Large numbers of these Jews settled in other parts of Germany, e. g. Frankfurt, in Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, and Russia and their name variants are Shapiro

Shapiro

Shapiro, and its variations such as Shapira, Schapiro and Chapiro , is a Yiddish surname.-Etymology:One theory suggests that it derives from Shpira, the Hebrew/Yiddish name for Spira , the medieval name of Speyer, Germany. The Jewish community of Speyer was an important centre in the development of...

, Spira, Spire, Spiro, Spero, Chapiro, Sprai, Szpir, Saphir, Spear and also Speyer. (Kaganoff, 1977) Source: Saul Zeichner,27 November 2000, Revised 10 April 2009 http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Kolomea/nameorigin.htm The world champion rower Donald Spero

Donald Spero

Donald M. Spero is an American physicist, venture capitalist and a former U.S. and world champion rower who competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics.-Early life and education:...

is Jewish.