How common is the last name Shepherd?

59,896 people in the United States have the last name Shepherd, about 1 in 4,990. It ranks #552 of 156,621 last names in the 2020 Census.

last name

SHEPHERD

#552

of 156,621 last names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
59,896
About
1 in 4,990
This common or more
33.1%
Who bears it

Of the 59,896 people with the last name Shepherd, 75.8% reported their origin as White, 15.4% as Black and 4% as two or more races. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Either side of Shepherd

#550 Yates · 60,581#551 Lang · 59,955#553 Marsh · 59,877#554 Bautista · 59,869

Spelled almost the same

8 last names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Shepherd, most common first.

#928 Shepard · 36,770#977 Sheppard · 35,274#5,335 Shephard · 6,306#18,041 Shepperd · 1,524#23,036 Sheperd · 1,141#45,922 Shepheard · 501#89,231 Sheppeard · 223#101,718 Shepeard · 189

Also a first name

As a first name, Shepherd ranks #6,110 of 53,615, with 2,664 people. As a baby name it peaked in 2025, with 1,416 births. See Shepherd as a first name

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