2000
#1,366
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,804
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.82
Uncommon Last name
Schafer
An occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep herder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 27,525 Americans carry the last name Schafer. That puts it at #1,447 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,452 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schafer surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Schafer with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,452
Census rank
#1,447
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
24K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,003 bearers of the surname Schafer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1447th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 In a historical document from 1379, a man named Heinrich Schafer is mentioned as a resident of the town of Mühlhausen in present-day Thuringia, Germany.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schafer
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Schafer bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Schafer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 22,216
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 740
- Two or more races3.0% · 725
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 163
- Black or African American0.4% · 100
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schafer
Schafer appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,543
+739 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 8.32
Rank movement Down 86 places
2020
#1,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,003
-540 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 8.03
Rank movement Up 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,366 | 23,804 | 8.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,452 | 24,543 | 8.32 | +739 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 86 places |
| 2020 | #1,447 | 24,003 | 8.03 | -540 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 5 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Schafer surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,452 | #1,447 | 0.3% |
| Count | 24,543 | 24,003 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 8.32 | 8.03 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schafer bearers went from 24,543 to 24,003 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,452 to #1,447.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Schafer
FAQ
Schafer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schafer?
Name Census estimates that about 27,525 living Americans carry the surname Schafer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,452 residents.
How common is Schafer?
Schafer ranks #1,447 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,003 people with the surname Schafer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (27,525), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Schafer.
Has Schafer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schafer went from 24,543 recorded bearers to 24,003. That is a decrease of 540 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,452 to #1,447.
What does the Census say about the background of Schafer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schafer, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Schafer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (22,216 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schafer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.6%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (3.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Schafer (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Schafer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep herder. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Schafer (8.03 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Schafer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.