Lapidus (including its variant spellings) is: * a surname which derived from the Latin word lapideus, meaning 'made of stone'; 'stony', also from the Latin lapis meaning 'stone'. It could also be derived from the Latin adjective lepidus meaning pleasant or charming. A branch of the Roman gens Aemilia was cognominated Lepidus. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a member of the Second Triumvirate, with Octavius (later Caesar Augustus) and Marcus Antonius. * a surname which perhaps has a Bible origin and going back to the book of Judges 4,4: "Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time", and hence probably derived from lapidot, the Hebrew word for torches, yet is not exclusive to one religion or nationality.