Given name & surname · also German
Schaefer
Schaefer is a surname from German, ultimately from Old High German.
Original GermanSchaeffer
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
Schaefer comes from German, and ultimately from Old High German.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From German Schaefer (“shepherd”), from Middle High German schæfære, from Old High German scāphare.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1991. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Schaefer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 73
- 73 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2005
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,565 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,565 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 2005. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 186 as a first name in 2020; 39,427 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Schaefer’s family of names
In German usage, Schaefer as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the English form Shepherd. In English usage, Schaefer as a surname has a related form in Shaffer. In German usage, Schaefer as a surname has a related form in Schaeferlein.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 43
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Schaeffervariant · German
- Schafervariant · German, English
- Schäflevariant · German
- Schäferlevariant · German
- Schäfervariant · German
- Scheppervariant · German
- Schefersvariant · German
- Scheefersvariant · German
Show 35 moreShow fewer
- Schapervariant · German, English
- Schaeflervariant · German
- Schäflervariant · German
- Schaefleinvariant · German
- Schäfleinvariant · German
- Schaeflevariant · German
- Schaeflvariant · German
- Schäflvariant · German
- Schaefgesvariant · German
- Schäfgesvariant · German
- Schaefgenvariant · German
- Schäfgenvariant · German
- Schaffvariant · German
- Schaefertvariant · German
- Schäfertvariant · German
- Schaefersmannvariant · German
- Schäfersmannvariant · German
- Schaefersvariant · German
- Schäfersvariant · German
- Schaefermannvariant · German
- Schäfermannvariant · German
- Schaeferleinvariant · German
- Schäferleinvariant · German
- Schafvariant · German
- Schepervariant · German
- Scheffervariant · German
- Schaepervariant · German
- Schäpervariant · German
- Schäffervariant · German
- Schoefervariant · German
- Schöfervariant · German
- Schefervariant · German
- Scheefervariant · German
- Schaffervariant · English
- Shaffervariant · English
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Schaefer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Kail
“a mighty warrior”
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Ebben
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Kohl
“cabbage”
>99% boys
Alrik
“elf-ruler”
>99% boys
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Kahlo is a surname from German.
91% boys · 9% girls
Messer
“knife”
>99% boys