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

Shafe, 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 Shafe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shafe in America

Shafe is the 117480th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shafe surname appeared 148 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Shafe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shafe 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 Shafe

The surname SHAFE originated in the region of Saxony, Germany in the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old German word "schaf" meaning "shepherd" or "sheep herder". The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Schafe" which later evolved into the modern SHAFE.

In the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a manuscript from 1198, there is a reference to a landowner named Henricus Schafe. This is one of the earliest known mentions of the surname in historical records. The name also appears in the Annales Monasterii Corbeiensis, a chronicle of the Corvey Abbey, where a monk named Frater Johannes Schafe is listed as a scribe in the year 1235.

The SHAFE name can be traced to several villages in Saxony, including Schafstädt, Schafhaus, and Schaffeld. These place names are likely derived from the same root word, indicating areas where sheep herding was a common occupation.

One notable bearer of the SHAFE surname was Johann Shafe, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1492 to 1552. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and authored several influential works on theology and ethics.

Another historical figure was Frederica Shafe, a German noblewoman who lived from 1612 to 1675. She was a patron of the arts and is credited with commissioning numerous works of art and architecture in her home city of Dresden.

In England, the SHAFE surname can be traced back to the 16th century, likely introduced by German immigrants. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of William Shafe, a merchant who was born in London in 1558 and is mentioned in several trade records from the time.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the SHAFE name continued to spread across Europe, with bearers of the surname found in various regions, including France, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia.

A notable figure from this period was Captain Hans Shafe, a Dutch naval officer who served in the Dutch East India Company from 1672 to 1715. He is known for his exploration of the Indian Ocean and his role in establishing Dutch trade routes in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shafe

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

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 Shafe 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 Shafe 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 Shafe was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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