Shepard
One who watches over or guides a flock or group of people.
Name Census estimates that about 3,095 living Americans carry the first name Shepard. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shepard today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shepard births was 2022 (253 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shepard. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Shepard is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 110,745 Americans
Peak year
2022
253 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#940
Tracked since 1912
Census
Shepard in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,955 people with the first name Shepard, which placed it at #7,691 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,691
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,955 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shepard
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shepard is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shepard described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shepard at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 1,659
- Black or African American5.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 97
- Two or more races3.9% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Shepard
Out of the 3,450 babies given the name Shepard since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Shepard as a male name
- Ranked #940 in 2024
- 244 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (253 births)
Shepard as a female name
- Ranked #18,877 in 2013
- 5 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2013 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shepard leans strongly male. 1,909 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 46 female bearers (2.4%).
Popularity
Shepard: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shepard from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,281 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shepard by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shepard during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shepards live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. Texas, California, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Shepard, while Nebraska, Massachusetts, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 59 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shepard
The name Shepard is an English occupational name that originated in the Middle Ages, derived from the Old English word "sceaphierde," which means "shepherd" or "keeper of sheep." The name first emerged in the 11th century as a reference to those who tended and protected flocks of sheep, a crucial occupation in medieval agricultural communities.
In medieval England, shepherds played a vital role in the economy and were often respected members of society. The name Shepard became a common surname among those engaged in this profession, and it eventually transitioned into a given name as well.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shepard can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and population in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Sceapheorde" and "Schepeherdes."
The name Shepard has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history. One prominent figure was Shepard Knapp (1652-1713), a prominent merchant and politician in colonial Massachusetts. He served as the Speaker of the Massachusetts General Court and played a significant role in the colony's governance.
Another notable bearer of the name was Shepard Fairey (born 1970), an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. He is best known for his iconic "OBEY" campaign and the iconic "Hope" poster featuring Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
In the realm of literature, Shepard Stearns (1835-1917) was an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about travel and adventure. His books, such as "The Life and Times of Sir Walter Raleigh" and "The Buccaneer" garnered critical acclaim and provided fascinating insights into historical events and figures.
In the world of science, Shepard Stone (1908-1990) was a pioneering American meteorologist and atmospheric scientist. He made significant contributions to the understanding of atmospheric processes and played a crucial role in the development of modern weather forecasting techniques.
Another notable figure bearing the name Shepard was Alan Shepard (1923-1998), the American astronaut who became the first American to travel into space in 1961. His historic Mercury-Redstone 3 mission paved the way for the subsequent achievements of the NASA space program.
While the name Shepard has maintained a steady presence throughout history, its popularity has fluctuated over time. However, its enduring connection to the pastoral tradition and the occupation of shepherding has ensured its continued use as a given name, carrying with it a sense of protection, guidance, and care for those entrusted to one's charge.
People
Shepard + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shepard as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shepard: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shepard?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,095 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shepard going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 110,745 US residents.
Is Shepard a common name?
We classify Shepard as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,450 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shepard most popular?
The single biggest year for Shepard was 2022, when 253 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shepard is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shepard in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,955 people with the name Shepard, or 0.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,691 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shepard in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shepard?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shepard leans strongly male. 1,909 people counted with this name were male (97.6%), compared with 46 female bearers (2.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shepard?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shepard is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Black (5.0%) and Hispanic (5.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shepard most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shepard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (1,659 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shepard in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shepard a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Shepard in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shepard still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shepard in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shepard can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Shepard?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Shepard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.