Shepherd
One who protects, guides, and nurtures others.
Name Census estimates that about 6,111 living Americans carry the first name Shepherd. It sits at #311 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shepherd today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shepherd births was 2024 (1,104 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shepherd. 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
- • Shepherd is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 9 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.1K
~ 1 in 56,088 Americans
Peak year
2024
1,104 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#311
Tracked since 1886
Gender
Gender distribution for Shepherd
Out of the 6,392 babies given the name Shepherd since 1880, 99.7% 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.
Shepherd as a male name
- Ranked #311 in 2024
- 1,094 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (1,094 births)
Shepherd as a female name
- Ranked #10,135 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (10 births)
Popularity
Shepherd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shepherd from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 3,538 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
Shepherd 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 Shepherd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shepherds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Shepherd, while New Hampshire, North Dakota, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 129 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shepherd
The name Shepherd has its roots in the Old English word "sceaphierde," which literally translates to "sheep herder." This occupation became a common surname in medieval England, and eventually evolved into a given name as well. The name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon words "sceap" meaning sheep and "hierde" meaning herd or guardian.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shepherd can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book lists several individuals with the surname Shepherd, indicating that it was already in use as an occupational surname at that time.
The name Shepherd has a strong biblical connection as well. In the Bible, the occupation of a shepherd is often used as a metaphor for spiritual leadership and guidance. The most famous example is Jesus Christ, who is referred to as the "Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Shepherd. One of the earliest was Shepherd of Hermas, a Christian author who lived in Rome in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. His work, known as "The Shepherd of Hermas," is considered an important early Christian text.
Another prominent figure was Shepherd Knapp, an American educator and author who lived from 1784 to 1838. He was the co-founder of the American Lyceum movement, which aimed to promote adult education and intellectual discourse.
In the realm of literature, Shepherd Stevens (1792-1856) was an American poet and writer who is best known for his work "The Ludlow Massacre," which documented a violent event during the Colorado coal strike of 1914.
In the world of sports, Shepherd Siegel (1919-1998) was an American basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics in the 1940s and was later inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Finally, Shepherd Munden (1942-2019) was a British actor and director who had a successful career in both film and television, appearing in popular shows like "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock Holmes."
People
Shepherd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shepherd 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
Shepherd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shepherd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,111 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shepherd 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 56,088 US residents.
Is Shepherd a common name?
We classify Shepherd as "Rare". It ranks above 96.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,392 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shepherd most popular?
The single biggest year for Shepherd was 2024, when 1,104 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shepherd is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Shepherd a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Shepherd 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.
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.