We've profiled a lot of interesting names over the years. Hannukkah Wallace, bobsledder. Napoleon Einstein, cricketer. Ed Jew, politician/crook (Not a Jew).

Let's add Afrikan Spir to the mix. Yes, he is the man pictured on the left, and he is rather unlikely to be African. Spir was a 19th-century Russian philosopher, whose works influenced both Tolstoy and Nietzsche. So why the interesting name? (Spir himself was not a fan, and signed his works simply "A. Spir".)

Apparently, "Afrikan" came from an Orthodox saint, African of Petra, who was martyred in the 3rd century. "Spir", which probably should be "Shpir", came from "Shapiro".

This makes Afrikan Spir more Jewish than Hannukkah Wallace, Napoleon Einstein, or Ed Jew...