Shepherd Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Shepherd last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Shepherd last name
Meaning of the Shepherd last name: sheep herder. Shepherd is an English surname from the old word for a sheep herder, an important job when wool was England's great export. The last name became common in the sheep country of the north and the Midlands. A curious detail of this surname origin: clerks spelled it so freely that Shepard, Sheppard and Shephard all became separate family names from the same word.
Arms associated with the Shepherd name
In English heraldry a coat of arms belonged to one person at a time, so different Shepherd lines used their own versions, each set out in a blazon, the formal heraldic description.
Get your full Shepherd family history
This is only a glimpse of the Shepherd story. The full Shepherd history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Shepherd coat of arms. Get the full Shepherd report.
Shepherd name FAQ
What does the Shepherd name mean?
Sheep herder. Common variants include Shepard, Sheppard, Shephard.
Where does the Shepherd surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States and Australia.
Is there a Shepherd coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Shepherd coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).