bíró

Bíró is a Hungarian surname derived from bíró, meaning "judge." As an occupational surname, it originally referred to a person who served as a judge or magistrate. The name is common in Hungary and among people of Hungarian descent, and it carries the diacritic on the i in Hungarian orthography. In international contexts, the form Biro is sometimes used without diacritics.

The most widely known bearer is László Bíró (1899–1985), a Hungarian-Argentine journalist and inventor who co-developed the ballpoint pen. In collaboration with his brother György Bíró, he devised a pen that employed a small rotating ball to pick up ink from a reservoir and deposit it on paper. They patented the design in 1938; after fleeing Europe during World War II, they refined and marketed the device in Argentina. The invention led to the modern ballpoint pen, commonly called a biro in several English-speaking regions.

Beyond László Bíró, the surname is borne by other people in Hungary and international communities. In Hungarian, bíró also remains the ordinary word for a judge, used in courts and legal texts. The term “biro” has entered some languages as a generic name for a ballpoint pen, reflecting the widespread impact of the invention.