2000
#515
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 57,935
First available Census row
Per 100,000 21.48
Uncommon Last name
Shepherd
An occupational surname referring to a person who herds or tends sheep.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 68,684 Americans carry the last name Shepherd. That puts it at #552 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 20.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,990 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shepherd 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 Shepherd with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
69K
1 in 4,990
Census rank
#552
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
20.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
60K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 59,896 bearers of the surname Shepherd in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 20.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 552nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shepherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shepherd
The surname Shepherd is an occupational name originating in England, derived from the Old English word "sceaphierde" or "sceaphyrde", meaning a shepherd or someone who tended to sheep. This name first appeared in the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
One of the earliest known records of the surname Shepherd can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Scepherde" in various counties across England. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the late 11th century among those who worked as shepherds or lived in areas associated with sheep farming.
During the Middle Ages, the surname Shepherd was particularly prevalent in counties known for their wool and sheep industries, such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and the West Country regions of England. Variations in spelling also emerged, including Sheppard, Shephard, and Shepperd.
Notable individuals bearing the surname Shepherd throughout history include William Shepherd (c. 1554-1604), an English Protestant writer and controversialist; Thomas Shepherd (1605-1649), an English Puritan minister and one of the founders of Harvard College; and William Robert Shepherd (1761-1847), an English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in London.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Shepherd was also found in Scotland, where it was often rendered as "Shipherd" or "Shepperd". One of the earliest recorded instances of this spelling is John Shipherd, who was born in Anstruther, Fife, Scotland in 1586.
Another notable figure with the surname Shepherd was Thomas Shepherd (1776-1859), an English astronomer and mathematician who served as the Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1819 to 1844.
As the name suggests, the surname Shepherd has a strong connection to the pastoral and agricultural traditions of England and Scotland, reflecting the importance of sheep farming in the economies and cultures of these regions throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shepherd
Among Census respondents with the surname Shepherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Shepherd 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 Shepherd surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 45,431
- Black or African American15.4% · 9,217
- Two or more races4.0% · 2,398
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 1,863
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 570
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 417
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shepherd
Shepherd 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
#557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 60,479
+2,544 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 20.50
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 59,896
-583 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 20.04
Rank movement Up 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #515 | 57,935 | 21.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #557 | 60,479 | 20.50 | +2,544 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #552 | 59,896 | 20.04 | -583 bearers (-1.0%) | 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 Shepherd 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 | #557 | #552 | 0.9% |
| Count | 60,479 | 59,896 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 20.50 | 20.04 | -2.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shepherd bearers went from 60,479 to 59,896 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #557 to #552.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Shepherd
FAQ
Shepherd surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shepherd?
Name Census estimates that about 68,684 living Americans carry the surname Shepherd. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,990 residents.
How common is Shepherd?
Shepherd ranks #552 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 20.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 20 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 59,896 people with the surname Shepherd. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (68,684), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 20.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 20.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 20 of them to have the surname Shepherd.
Has Shepherd become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shepherd went from 60,479 recorded bearers to 59,896. That is a decrease of 583 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #557 to #552.
What does the Census say about the background of Shepherd?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shepherd, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Shepherd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (45,431 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shepherd appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.8%), Black (15.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Shepherd (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 Shepherd mean?
An occupational surname referring to a person who herds or tends 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 Shepherd (20.04 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 Shepherd?
You can see how many people are called Shepherd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.