How common is the surname Shepherd?

60,479 people in the United States had the surname Shepherd in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,105 Americans. It ranked 557th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Shepherd?

Cybill Shepherd, American actress, followed by William Shepherd.

Where is the surname Shepherd most common?

Wikidata records people named Shepherd in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa and 1 other country.

Is the surname Shepherd getting more or less common?

More common. 57,935 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 60,479 in 2010, up 4.4%.

What are other spellings of Shepherd?

Shepard, Shephard, Sheppard and Shepperd.

Is Shepherd also a first name?

Yes. Shepherd is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Shepherd

An occupational surname, carried by 60,479 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S163 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Shepherd is more common than 99.7% of them.

Origin

From shepherd.

Shepherd is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 60,479 people named Shepherd in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,105 Americans. That is up 4.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 57,935.

#557

rank among US surnames

60,479

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+4.4%

change since 2000 (was #515)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#548	Charles	61,211	5,044
#549	Drake	61,162	5,048
#550	Barrera	60,998	5,062
#551	Cain	60,948	5,066
#552	Patrick	60,845	5,074
#553	Pineda	60,820	5,076
#554	Burnett	60,791	5,079

Who is named Shepherd

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

79% of people named Shepherd identified as white (not Hispanic), 16% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 79%
Black (not Hispanic) 16%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.0%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Shepherds

17 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Cybill Shepherd
American actress, born 1950
William Shepherd
American astronaut, born 1949
Sherri Shepherd
American actress, comedian, author and television personality, born 1967
Ben Shepherd
American musician, born 1968
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
American guitarist, born 1977
Scott Shepherd
American actor, born 1966
Dennis Shepherd
Boxer (1926–2006)
William Robert Shepherd
American cartographer and historian (1871–1934)
Nan Shepherd
(1893 - 1981), Scottish novelist, poet, educator
Jean Shepherd
American writer and radio host (1921–1999)
Elizabeth Shepherd
British actress, born 1936
Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd
British Baron (1918-2001)

Notable Shepherds come mostly from the United States (11), the United Kingdom (4) and South Africa (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Shepherd

Shepherd has the Soundex code S163, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S163.

Questions

Where does the surname Shepherd come from?: From shepherd.
How common is the surname Shepherd?: 60,479 people in the United States had the surname Shepherd in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,105 Americans. It ranked 557th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Shepherd?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Shepherd identified as white (not Hispanic), and 16% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Shepherd?: Cybill Shepherd, American actress, followed by William Shepherd.
Where is the surname Shepherd most common?: Wikidata records people named Shepherd in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa and 1 other country.
What type of surname is Shepherd?: Shepherd is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Shepherd getting more or less common?: More common. 57,935 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 60,479 in 2010, up 4.4%.
What are other spellings of Shepherd?: Shepard, Shephard, Sheppard and Shepperd.
Is Shepherd also a first name?: Yes. Shepherd is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.