2000
#7,792
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Sheaffer
An occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep shearer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,444 Americans carry the last name Sheaffer. That puts it at #8,190 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 77,127 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sheaffer 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.
Bearers in the US
4.4K
1 in 77,127
Census rank
#8,190
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,875 bearers of the surname Sheaffer in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8190th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheaffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sheaffer
The surname Sheaffer originated in Germany and derives from the occupational name "Schaffer", which means "shepherd" or "sheep herder". It is believed to have first emerged in the late 12th or early 13th century.
The earliest known record of the name dates back to the year 1275, when a Johannes Schaeffer was mentioned in a document from the town of Freiburg im Breisgau, located in the southwest region of present-day Germany. It is thought that the name may have originally been spelled as "Scheffer" or "Schefer" before evolving into its current form.
During the Middle Ages, the Sheaffer surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Swabia and Bavaria, where many families were engaged in sheep farming and related occupations. The name can also be found in various historical records from these areas, including tax rolls and church documents.
One notable historical figure bearing the Sheaffer name was Johann Sheaffer (1624-1677), a German Protestant theologian and philosopher who served as a professor at the University of Jena. Another early bearer of the name was Hans Sheaffer (1565-1634), a prominent architect and stonemason who worked on several important buildings in the city of Nuremberg.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Sheaffers migrated from Germany to other parts of Europe and North America, contributing to the spread of the surname. For example, Peter Sheaffer (1710-1782) was a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania and became a successful farmer and landowner.
Other notable individuals with the Sheaffer surname include Walter A. Sheaffer (1867-1959), an American industrialist who founded the Sheaffer Pen Company, and Winona Sheaffer (1888-1970), an American artist and illustrator known for her work in children's books.
While the Sheaffer name has its roots in Germany, it has since become distributed across various parts of the world, particularly in areas with significant German-American populations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheaffer
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheaffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sheaffer 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 Sheaffer surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 3,624
- Two or more races2.5% · 98
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 30
- Black or African American0.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sheaffer
Sheaffer 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
#8,087
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,100
+166 bearers (+4.2%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Down 295 places
2020
#8,190
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,875
-225 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,792 | 3,934 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,087 | 4,100 | 1.39 | +166 bearers (+4.2%) | Down 295 places |
| 2020 | #8,190 | 3,875 | 1.30 | -225 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 103 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 Sheaffer 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 | #8,087 | #8,190 | -1.3% |
| Count | 4,100 | 3,875 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.30 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sheaffer bearers went from 4,100 to 3,875 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,087 to #8,190.
FAQ
Sheaffer surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sheaffer?
Name Census estimates that about 4,444 living Americans carry the surname Sheaffer. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 77,127 residents.
How common is Sheaffer?
Sheaffer ranks #8,190 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,875 people with the surname Sheaffer. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,444), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sheaffer.
Has Sheaffer become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sheaffer went from 4,100 recorded bearers to 3,875. That is a decrease of 225 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,087 to #8,190.
What does the Census say about the background of Sheaffer?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sheaffer, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.5%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sheaffer in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (3,624 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sheaffer appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Two or More Races (2.5%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Sheaffer (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 Sheaffer mean?
An occupational surname referring to a shepherd or sheep shearer. 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 Sheaffer (1.30 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 Sheaffer?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.