Contents [hide]

Shephard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Shephard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The name Shephard comes from one of the family having worked as a person who worked as a shepherd, the guardian of the sheep. 1 2

Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. Occupational names frequently were derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames. In this case the surname was originally derived from the Old English word sceap, meaning sheep and hierde meaning herdsman. While this traditional understand of the surname's meaning is in many ways self explanatory today, in examining the Coat of Arms invariably we find battle axes. This is not surprising as the ancient shepherds were employed to dig sod around the embattlements of a Saxon village as a means of defense, hence the term "the shepherd's ring." Their tools were battle axes.

Early Origins of the Shephard family

The surname Shephard was first found in the Southern counties of England, where they could be found from early times. Early recorded instances of the name include William Sepherd listed in Rotuli Hundredorum, in Oxfordshire in 1279. 3 The same rolls listed Margaret le Sephirde in Huntingdonshire and Walter le Schepherde in Cambridgeshire. 4

Henry Sephurde was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex of 1296 while Walter le Shepperde was listed in the Feet of Fines of Staffordshire in 1307. 3

Later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed William Shephirde; and Johannes Schephirde. 4

Early History of the Shephard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shephard research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1307, 1317, 1327, 1399, 1413, 1515, 1559, 1605, 1634, 1635, 1648, 1649, 1698, 1720 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Shephard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shephard Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Shephard have been found, including: Shepherd, Shephard, Sheppard, Sheppeard, Shepperd and others.

Early Notables of the Shephard family

Distinguished members of the family include Shepherd, alias Thwattes, of Derbyshire, who were a noble family during the reign of Henry IV (ruled 1399-1413); John Sheppard (c.1515-1559) English composer & organist, considered one of the finest English church composers of the Tudor era; Thomas Shepard (1605-1649), born in Towcester...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shephard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shephard Ranking

In the United States, the name Shephard is the 4,278^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Shephard family to Ireland

Some of the Shephard family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 65 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shephard migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Among the first immigrants of the name Shephard, or a variant listed above to cross the Atlantic and come to North America were :

Shephard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Humphrey Shephard, who settled in Boston in 1635

Shephard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Shephard, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1823 6
Patrick Shephard, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1829 6
D A Shephard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 6
J L N Shephard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
George Shephard, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1860 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Shephard migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Shephard Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Joseph Shephard, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1778

Shephard migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Shephard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Shephard, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Duke of Portland" in January 1807, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
William Henry Shephard, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Tam O'Shanter" in 1836 8
Mr. Joseph Shephard, English convict who was convicted in Norfolk, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 8th July 1840, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Anne Shephard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Ramillies" in 1849 10
Mr. Hannibal (Hanibal) Shephard, (b. 1835), aged 21, Cornish labourer from Mullion, Cornwall, UKtravelling from Plymouth, Devon, UK aboard the ship "Aliquis" arriving in Adelaide, Australia on 26th August 1856 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Shephard migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Shephard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Shephard, aged 31, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
Elizabeth Shephard, aged 29, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
Fanny Shephard, aged 7, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
James Shephard, aged 5, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
William Shephard, aged 3, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1842
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Shephard (post 1700) +

Isaac F. Shephard, American Union Civil War officer
Quinn Shephard, American actress
Ronald William Shephard (1912-1982), American Professor of Engineering Science at the University of California
Greer Shephard, American television producer and director
Ruth L. Shephard, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Kalamazoo County 1st District, 1948 12
Robert C. Shephard, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 5th District, 1925 12
J. H. Shephard, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Hamilton County Democratic Party, 1950 12
Mrs. Hugh Shephard, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1952 12
Harvey Shephard, American politician, Postmaster at Dallas, Texas, 1865 12
George W. Shephard, American politician, Member of Nebraska State House of Representatives, 1889 12
... (Another 17 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Shephard family +

Air New Zealand Flight 901

Mr. George M. Shephard (d. 1979), American passenger, from USA aboard the Air New Zealand Flight 901 for an Antarctic sightseeing flight when it flew into Mount Erebus; he died in the crash 13

The Shephard Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Fide et virtute
Motto Translation: By fidelity and valour.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duke-of-portland
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TAM O'SHANTER - 1836. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1836TamOShanter.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RAMILIES 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Ramillies.htm
The Ships List Passenger Lists Ship Aliquis (Retrieved 26th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/aliquis1856.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx