Given name & surname
Sheppard
“one who herds sheep”
Sheppard is a variant of Shepherd. One English interpretation is “one who herds sheep.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Sheppard is a variant of Shepherd. One English interpretation is “one who herds sheep.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Sheppard is a variant of Shepherd. An origin associated with Shepherd is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sheppard through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 716
- 716 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 40 babies
- 2025
- 40
- #3,081 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +39%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 40 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,081 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 38.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 448 as a first name in 2020; 35,274 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.
Sheppard’s family of names
In English usage, Sheppard has a diminutive in Shep. Sheppard has a related form in Shepherd. In English usage, Sheppard as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the Russian form Шепард.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
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