# Schafer (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/schafer/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from German [in turn originating as an occupation], equivalent to English Shepherd.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 24,543 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,452 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 12,580 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.1% (23,804 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Schaefer |

## Etymology

From German Schäfer.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Schafer in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 95% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Schafer in the United States and Austria.

## People named Schafer

- Hunter Schafer, American actress, model, and LGBTQ activist
- Karl Schäfer, Austrian figure skater and swimmer (1909–1976)
- Tim Schafer, American video game designer (born 1967)
- Natalie Schafer, American actress (1900-1991)
- Ed Schafer, 29th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- Alice T. Schafer, American mathematician (1915-2009)
- Edward H. Schafer, American historian and sinologist (1913-1991)

## Similar surnames

Schaefer, Schaffer, Schaeffer, Schiffer, Scheffer, Shaffer, Shafer, Shaver, Sheaffer, Sheffer, Schipper, Schober.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.