Shepard
Shepard was the 892nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 268 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 567 places. More babies were named Shepard in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning shepherd · English
Say it SHEP-erd /ˈʃɛpərd/
- Rank in 2025
- #892 boys, up 29 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 268boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025268 babies
- Total since 1880
- 3,719babies recorded
What does the name Shepard mean?
Shepard is a spelling of the English occupational surname Shepherd, first given to a man who looked after sheep. The word goes back to Old English scēaphierde, a compound of scēap 'sheep' and hierde 'herdsman'. Harrison's surname dictionary of 1918 treats Shepard, Shephard and Shepherd as forms of one name, and Wiktionary lists Shepard as an alternative form of Shepherd. As a first name it is a transfer from the surname, used in the US alongside the Shepherd spelling.
scēaphierde (Old English, “shepherd”)scēap (Old English, “sheep”)hierde (Old English, “herdsman”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Shepherd, Shephard, Sheppard.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Shepard', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Shepherd', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. 2 (1918), s.v. 'SHEPARD', Morland Press (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Shepard
The usual nicknames for Shepard are Shep.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shep · also for Shepherd | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Shepards go by each one.
Shepard popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 5 since 2013.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #892 | 268 |
| 2020 | #921 | 243 |
| 2010 | #2,117 | 64 |
| 2000 | #10,158 | 6 |
| 1990 | #9,302 | 5 |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | #5,337 | 5 |
| 1960 | #3,043 | 9 |
| 1950 | #3,279 | 7 |
| 1940 | #1,618 | 19 |
| 1930 | #2,159 | 14 |
| 1920 | #2,211 | 15 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Shepard, counting every spelling?
Shepard is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #772 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #892 for Shepard on its own. Together these spellings went to 321 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shepard | 268 | #892 | 1,236 |
| Sheppard | 40 | #3,081 | 172 |
| Sheperd | 13 | #6,743 | 26 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Shepard?
268 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Shepard (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Shepard born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 31 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Shepard.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Shepard?
About 3,300 people born in the US named Shepard are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 4 and 12. That makes Shepard a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Shepard by state
How common Shepard was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Alabama (3.7×), Tennessee (2.8×), Mississippi (2.6×), South Carolina (2.5×), Oklahoma (2.3×). In 23 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Shepard: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Shepard, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Shepard · Sibling names for Shepard
Questions about the name Shepard
What does Shepard mean?
Shepard means “shepherd” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Shepard?
Shepard was the 892nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 268 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 567 places. More babies were named Shepard in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Shepard a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Shepard in the US.
Where is Shepard most popular?
In 2021–2025, Shepard was most common in Alabama (0.53 per 1,000 boys), followed by Tennessee and Mississippi.