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Shephard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Shephard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The ancestors of the Shephard family lived among an ancient Scottish people called the Boernicians. They used Shephard as a name for a shepherd, one who guarded sheep. In Scotland, the name was often Latinized as pastor in early charters. 1 In this latter case, the Biblical reference to paschal lamb, the Lamb of God or Agnus Dei should be understood.

Early Origins of the Shephard family

The surname Shephard was first found in Peebles, where William and Walter Shepherd (recorded in the Latin form "Pastor") were cited in legal documents in the year 1262. One hundred years later we find a branch of the family in Morayshire, where Henricus Scyphard held land in Elgin in 1363. 1

Early History of the Shephard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shephard research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1513, 1565, 1605, 1649 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

Scribes in the Middle Ages, and simply spelled according to sound. The result is an enormous number of spelling variations among names that evolved in that era. Shephard has been spelled Shepherd, Sheppard, Shepphard, Sheepheard, Sheepherd, Shippert, Shepard, Shephard and many more.

Early Notables of the Shephard family

Another 29 words (2 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. 2

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 50 words (4 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 +

Most of the Boernician-Scottish families who came to North America settled on the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States and Canada. Families who wanted a new order stayed south in the War of Independence, while those who were still loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In the 20th century, the ancestors of these families have gone on to rediscover their heritage through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Shephard or a variant listed above:

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 3
Patrick Shephard, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1829 3
D A Shephard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
J L N Shephard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
George Shephard, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1860 3
... (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 4
William Henry Shephard, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Tam O'Shanter" in 1836 5
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 6
Anne Shephard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Ramillies" in 1849 7
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 8
... (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 9
Robert C. Shephard, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 5th District, 1925 9
J. H. Shephard, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Hamilton County Democratic Party, 1950 9
Mrs. Hugh Shephard, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Iowa, 1952 9
Harvey Shephard, American politician, Postmaster at Dallas, Texas, 1865 9
George W. Shephard, American politician, Member of Nebraska State House of Representatives, 1889 9
... (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 10

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"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