Schaeffer
A German surname meaning “shepherd,” from a word for sheep and the man who tends them.
The #2,272 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,268 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schaeffer is a German occupational surname related to the word for “shepherd.” The historical forms point to Middle High German and Old High German roots built on schaf, meaning “sheep,” plus an agent suffix that marks a person who does the work. The spelling has several variants, including Schaefer, Schafer, and Schaffer.
History
The surname is common in German-speaking areas and traveled widely with German migration to North America and elsewhere. English-language records often preserve the umlaut-free forms Schaefer or Schafer, while Schaeffer reflects one common Anglicized spelling tradition. Historical surname dictionaries sometimes group these spellings together as variants of the same occupational name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same root that gives this surname also appears in the modern German word for a shepherd, Schäfer.
From the historical record
“SCHAEFER SCHAEFFER SCHAFER SCHAFFER Morose [M.H.Ger. O.H.Ger. jdr] (Ger.) Shepherd [Ger. schdfer;- f. (with agent, suff. -er) schaf,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)