Schaffer
A German surname that most often began as a name for a shepherd, though in some cases it may have come from an occupational title for a steward or manager.
The #1,738 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,977 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually linked to German schaf, meaning “sheep,” plus the agent suffix -er, giving the sense “shepherd.” Some historical writers also connected similar forms with a steward or house manager, from Middle High German schaffaere / schaffer, a word related to managing or providing. Because these explanations overlap in older sources, the name can reflect either sheep-keeping or, less commonly, a management role.
History
The surname is well attested in German-language naming traditions and appears in several spellings, including Schaeffer, Schafer, and Scheffer. In German-speaking areas it has been carried by both ordinary families and, in some cases, by ennobled lines, which helped spread the name beyond rural occupational origins. English-language surname books of the 19th and early 20th centuries often glossed it simply as “shepherd.”
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books tried to explain Schaffer as both “shepherd” and “steward,” showing how closely related German occupational words could blur in early etymology.
From the historical record
“SCHAEFFER SCHAFER SCHAFFER Morose [M.H.Ger. O.H.Ger. jdr] (Ger.) Shepherd [Ger. schdfer;- f. (with agent, suff. -er) schaf, M.H.Ger. sch&f, O.H.Ger. scAf,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)