Find out how popular the last name Schafer is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Schafer.

Schafer, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Schafer surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Schafer in America

Schafer is the 1452nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Schafer surname appeared 24,543 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Schafer.

We can also compare 2010 data for Schafer to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Schafer

The surname Schafer is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is an occupational name derived from the German word "Schäfer," which means "shepherd." The name first appeared in regions of Germany where sheep farming and herding were common occupations.

Schafer is a variant spelling of the more common German surname Schäfer. Other variations include Sheffer, Shaeffer, and Shaffer. These spellings reflect regional dialects and the evolution of the name over time.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Schafer dates back to the 14th century. In a historical document from 1379, a man named Heinrich Schafer is mentioned as a resident of the town of Mühlhausen in present-day Thuringia, Germany.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholders and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not include the surname Schafer. However, the name likely existed during this period but was not recorded or documented.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Schafer include:

1. Georg Schafer (1512-1572), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who worked alongside Martin Luther.
2. Johann Schafer (1624-1677), a German composer and organist during the Baroque period.
3. Charles Schafer (1808-1886), an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Oregon from 1857 to 1858.
4. Johann Schafer (1661-1720), a German astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of comets and planetary orbits.
5. Anna Schafer (1882-1925), a German-American labor organizer and activist who played a prominent role in the women's suffrage movement in the United States.

The surname Schafer has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Schäferhof (meaning "shepherd's court") and Schäfersbach (meaning "shepherd's brook"). These place names reflect the occupational origins of the surname and the areas where shepherds and sheep farming were prevalent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Schafer

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Schafer.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Schafer was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Schafer has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Schafer was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Schafer, please contact us.

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