The lists below contain notable people who are from the city of Thessaloniki , listed alphabetically.
Notable Thessalonians [ edit ]
Demetrius of Thessaloniki
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Theodorus Gaza
Sabbatai Zevi
Ioannis Papafis
Halil Rifat Pasha
Emilios Riadis
Şükrü Naili Gökberk
Refet Bele and Kemal Atatürk
Sabiha Sertel
Nâzım Hikmet
Christos Sartzetakis
The following were born in or associated with Thessaloniki . Some became famous after they moved away.
Aaron Abiob (1535–1605), rabbi
Maurice Abravanel (1903–1993), conductor
Isaac Adarbi (c. 1510 – c. 1584), casuist
Nikolaos Aggelakis (1905–1986), footballer
Mary Akrivopoulou (born 1975), actress
Shlomo Alkabetz (1505–1584), poet, kabbalist and rabbi
Moses Alpalas
Moses Almosnino
Saul Amarel , pioneer of artificial intelligence
Moses Amarillo (18th century), rabbi
Manolis Anagnostakis , poet
Anthimos Ananiadis , actor
Georgios Anatolakis
Antipater of Thessalonica
Cahit Arf , mathematician
Aristarchus , saint
Konstantinos Armenopoulos , Byzantine jurist whose book, the Hexabiblos , influenced Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek civic code
Salamo Arouch , boxer
Ḥayyim Asahel (d. before 1746) rabbi, author
Nikolas Asimos
Michael Astrapas and Eutychios , painters
Kemal Atatürk , founder of the Republic of Turkey
Nicholas Cabasilas , Byzantine mystic
Andronicus Callistus , scholar, pioneer of the Renaissance
David Samuel Carasso , 19th-century Jewish traveler and writer
Emmanuel Carasso , freemason, Young Turk , anti-Zionist , and proponent for internationalization of Thessaloniki
Isaac Carasso , founder of Groupe Danone (Dannon yogurt)
Manolis Chiotis , composer and musician
Nuri Conker , politician and an officer of the Ottoman Army and the Turkish Army
Auguste Corteau , pen name of the Greek author Petros Hadjopoulos
Demetrius Cydones , prime minister of the Byzantine Empire
Prochorus Cydones , monk, theologian, and linguist
Saint Cyril , co-creator of the Cyrillic alphabet
Gus G. , guitarist
Artemi Gavezou , rhythmic gymnast and Olympic silver medalist in 2016
Theodorus Gaza , humanist and translator of ancient Greek texts
Katerina Georgiadou
Philippe Gigantès , Canadian politician
Evi Gkotzaridis , historian [ 1] [ 2]
Şükrü Naili Gökberk , military officer in the Ottoman and Turkish armies
Demetris Th. Gotsis
Robert Guérin du Rocher , a Jesuit priest, who was beatified by Pope Pius XI in October 1926 was a pastor in the city.[ 3]
Aka Gündüz , poet, composer, and politician
Eva Kaili , Member of Parliament and newscaster
Giannis Kalatzis , singer
Andronikos Kallistos , teacher of Greek literature
Takis Kanellopoulos , director
Christos Karipidis , footballer
Harry Klynn , comedian[ 4]
Dimitrios Konstantopoulos , footballer
Mary Kostakidis , Australian news anchor
Christos Kostis , footballer
Georgios Koudas , footballer
Dinos Kouis , footballer
Stavros Koujioumtzis , composer
Sabiha Sertel , professional journalist and publisher in Turkey
Raphaël Salem , mathematician
Dimitris Salpingidis , footballer
Victoria Samanidou , analytical chemist and professor
Christos Sartzetakis , President of the Hellenic Republic
Dionysis Savvopoulos , composer
Ioannis Sfairopoulos (born 1967), basketball coach in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and EuroLeague
Solomon Sirilio , rabbi and Talmud commentator
Ahmet Zeki Soydemir , officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army
Anthoula Stathopoulou-Vafopoulou , poet and playwright
Yannis Stavrou , contemporary artist
Damaskinos Stouditis , patriarchal exarch of Aitolia