Given name & surname
Shaffer
“a steward”
Shaffer is a variant of Schaeffer. One German interpretation is “a steward.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shaffer is a variant of Schaeffer. One German interpretation is “a steward.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Shaffer is a variant of Schaeffer. An origin associated with Schaeffer is German.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1971. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shaffer through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 43
- 43 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2011. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 2002. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 204 as a first name in 2020; 57,111 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.
Shaffer’s family of names
Shaffer has a related form in Schaeffer. In English usage, Shaffer as a surname has a related form in SCHAEFER.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Shaffer
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shaffer, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.