The Schaefer surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 41,063 people carried this name — #841 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,180 people counted. That is up 1% from 40,663 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Schaefer surname
A surname from German [in turn originating as an occupation], equivalent to English Shepherd.
From German Schaefer (“shepherd”), an occupational surname; from Middle High German schæfære, from late Old High German scāphare.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Schaefer» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 790 people named Schaefer.
73 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 51 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 268 people named Schaefer live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
168 people named Schaefer have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 254 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
164 people named Schaefer live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In the Nordic population registers
49 people named Schaefer is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Schaefer in American newspapers,
1885–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 143,129 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Schaefer,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Heinrich Wilhelm Schaefer 1835–1892 · Oberlehrer -
Rudolph Jay Schaefer I 1863–1923 · businessperson -
Germany Schaefer 1876–1919 · baseball player -
Jacob Schaefer 1888–1936 · composer -
Bertha Schaefer 1895–1971 · art dealer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 201 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Schaefer.
- Schaaf 5,375 · U.S. census
- Schaaff 136 · U.S. census
- Schaal 1,984 · U.S. census
- Schacher 889 · U.S. census
- Schacherer 218 · U.S. census
- Schade 3,958 · U.S. census
- Schaeffer 16,024 · U.S. census
- Schaer 778 · U.S. census
- Schaerer 155 · U.S. census
- Schaetzel 113 · U.S. census
- Schaetzle 223 · U.S. census
- Schafer 24,543 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Schaefer is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.