Shepherd

Shepherd Meaning & Origin

About Shepherd
The surname Shepherd is of English origin and is derived from the Middle English word "shepherd," which referred to a person who herded and cared for sheep. As a surname, Shepherd was likely originally given to individuals who worked as shepherds or had a connection to the occupation. It is a common occupational surname that signifies someone involved in the rearing and tending of sheep.

🌍 Origin
📏 Surname Length
💬 Number of Syllables
🔠 Starting Letter
Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe Logo

Discover Your Ancestry with 23andMe

Explore your ancestry and health insights with exclusive savings.

Save 15%-60% this holiday season

Popularity

Surname Popularity by Ethnicity

The surname Shepherd features prominently in our database, being among the top 1000 surnames. Explore its detailed popularity metrics and distribution:

  • Number of People with the name Shepherd: 60,479
  • Overall Popularity: 0.02%
  • Ranking: 557
  • Frequency per 100k people: 20.5

Below is the ethnic distribution of the surname Shepherd based on recent US Census records. This is a brief glimpse into the diverse backgrounds of people carrying this surname.

Ranking information for the surname Shepherd is not currently available.

Pronunciation

📇 Metaphone
XFRT
🗽 NYSIIS
Error
🔊 Soundex
S01063
🎵 Syllabic Pronunciation
SH EH1 P ER0 D
🌐 IPA
/ˈʃɛpərd/
🔊 Double Metaphone
('XFRT', '')
🈯 Cross-Lingual Phonetic
S163

Accessibility & Communication

How to write the name Shepherd in Braille

Here's how to represent Shepherd in Braille, each pattern of raised dots corresponds to a letter in the name.

The name Shepherd in braille

How to sign the name Shepherd using Sign Language

The image below shows how you can spell Shepherd using American Sign Language (ASL). In sign language, each hand shape corresponds to a specific a letter of the name.

The name Shepherd in sign language

Numerology