2000
#4,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,519
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.42
Rare Last name
Shephard
An occupational surname referring to someone who herded or tended sheep.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,231 Americans carry the last name Shephard. That puts it at #5,335 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 47,401 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shephard 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 Shephard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.2K
1 in 47,401
Census rank
#5,335
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,306 bearers of the surname Shephard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5335th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shephard, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shephard
The surname Shephard is of English origin and derives from the Old English word "sceaphyrde," which means "shepherd" or someone who tends to sheep. It is an occupational surname, indicating that the original bearer of the name was likely a shepherd by profession.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century in various parts of England, particularly in rural areas where sheep farming was a common occupation. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is spelled "Scepherde."
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the name began to appear in various forms, such as "Sheppard," "Shepard," and "Shepperd," reflecting the differences in pronunciation and spelling patterns across different regions of England.
One notable early bearer of the surname was Robert Shepherd (c. 1195-1268), a medieval English chronicler and monk who wrote the "Chronica Maiorum et Vicecomitum Londoniarum," a chronicle of the mayors and sheriffs of London.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name became more widely distributed across England, with some variations in spelling emerging. For example, in the town of Ipswich, Suffolk, the name was often spelled "Sheppard," while in Lincolnshire, it was commonly spelled "Shephard."
William Shepherd (c. 1554-1623) was an English clergyman and theologian who served as the rector of Bocking, Essex, and published several religious works, including "The Times Displayed in Six Books" and "The Whole Office of the Holy Week."
In the 17th century, the surname was also found in Scotland, where it was sometimes spelled "Schipherd" or "Schippert." One notable bearer of the name from this period was James Shepherd (1616-1696), a Scottish minister and theologian who served as the principal of the University of St. Andrews.
Another notable figure with the surname Shephard was Thomas Shephard (1605-1649), a Puritan minister and one of the founders of Harvard College in Massachusetts. He was born in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, and later emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The surname Shephard has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Shephard's Hill in Hertfordshire, Shephard's Well in Warwickshire, and Shephard's Farm in Kent, further highlighting the name's connection to rural areas and occupations related to sheep farming.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shephard
Among Census respondents with the surname Shephard, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Hispanic (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Shephard 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 Shephard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.5% · 3,691
- Black or African American30.1% · 1,900
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 361
- Two or more races4.4% · 277
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shephard
Shephard 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
#5,105
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,859
+340 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.33
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#5,335
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,306
-553 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 2.11
Rank movement Down 230 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,950 | 6,519 | 2.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,105 | 6,859 | 2.33 | +340 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #5,335 | 6,306 | 2.11 | -553 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 230 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 Shephard 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 | #5,105 | #5,335 | -4.5% |
| Count | 6,859 | 6,306 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.33 | 2.11 | -9.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shephard bearers went from 6,859 to 6,306 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 230 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,105 to #5,335.
FAQ
Shephard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shephard?
Name Census estimates that about 7,231 living Americans carry the surname Shephard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 47,401 residents.
How common is Shephard?
Shephard ranks #5,335 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.11 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,306 people with the surname Shephard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,231), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.11 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shephard.
Has Shephard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shephard went from 6,859 recorded bearers to 6,306. That is a decrease of 553 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,105 to #5,335.
What does the Census say about the background of Shephard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shephard, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.5%. The next largest groups are Black (30.1%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Shephard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.5% (3,691 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shephard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.5%), Black (30.1%), Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Shephard (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 Shephard mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who herded or tended sheep. 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 Shephard (2.11 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 last name Shephard?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Shephard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.