Schaefer

Schaefer is an alternative spelling and cognate for the German word schäfer, meaning 'shepherd', which itself descends from the Old High German scāphare. Variants "Shaefer", "Schäfer" (a standardized spelling in many German-speaking countries after 1880), the additional alternative spelling "Schäffer", and the anglicised forms "Schaeffer", "Schaffer", "Shaffer", "Shafer", and "Schafer" are all common surnames.

Schaefer

Born in 1800–1899

• Arnold Schaefer (1819–1883), German historian
• Germany Schaefer (1877–1919), American baseball player
• Jacob Schaefer Sr (1850–1910), American billiards player
• Jacob Schaefer Jr (1894–1975) American billiards player
• Jacob Schaefer (composer) (1888–1936), American composer and conductor
• Marie Charlotte Schaefer (1874–1927), American physician
• Rudolph Jay Schaefer I (1863–1923), American businessman

Born in 1900–1949

• Fred K. Schaefer (1904–1953), German and American geographer
• Walter V. Schaefer (1904–1986), American jurist and educator
• Vincent Schaefer (1906–1993), American chemist and meteorologist who developed cloud seeding
• Jack Warner Schaefer (1907–1991), American fiction author
• Milner Baily Schaefer (1912–1970), American fisheries biologist
• William Donald Schaefer (1921–2011), American politician
• Udo Schaefer (1926–2019), German Bahá'í author
• Will Schaefer (1928–2007), American composer
• Bill Schaefer (field hockey) (1925–2003), New Zealand field hockey player
• Kermit Schaefer (1923–1979), American writer, broadcast and Pardon My Blooper record series producer
• Daniel Schaefer (1936–2006), American politician
• James Schaefer (1938–2018), American politician and rancher
• Bob Schaefer (born 1944), American baseball coach
• Henry F. Schaefer, III (born 1944), American chemist, academic and Protestant educator
• Gerard John Schaefer (1946–1995), American killer, rapist, and suspected serial killer
• Ronald P. Schaefer (born 1945), American linguist

Born after 1950

• Vic Schaefer (born 1961), American basketball coach
• Peter Schaefer (ice hockey) (born 1977), Canadian ice hockey player
• Jarrett Schaefer (born 1979), America film director and screenwriter
• Nolan Schaefer (born 1980), Canadian ice hockey player
• Bradley E. Schaefer, American physicist
• Kurt Schaefer, American academic
• Peter Schaefer (author), American academic and religious history author
• Laura Schaefer (disambiguation), multiple people

Schäfer

Born after 1800

• Wilhelm Schäfer (1868–1952), German naturalist writer and magazine publisher
• Dirk Schäfer (1873–1931), Dutch pianist and composer
• Karl Emil Schäfer (1891–1917), German World War I pilot, recipient of the Pour le Mérite

Born after 1899

• Emanuel Schäfer (1900–1974), German SS officer, head of security police and SD in Serbia during World War II
• Gustav Schäfer (rower) (1906–1991), German Olympic rower
• Karl Schäfer (figure skater) (1909–1976), Austrian Olympic figure skater
• Ernst Schäfer (1910–1992), German hunter, zoologist and ornithologist
• Willy Schäfer (handball player) (1913–1980), Swiss Olympic field handball player
• Paul Schäfer (1921–2010), German-Chilean cult leader
• Hans Schäfer (1927–2017), German retired footballer
• Karl Heinz Schäfer (1932–1996), German-born composer and arranger working in France
• Willy Schäfer (actor) (1933–2011), German actor
• Barbara Schäfer (1934–2024), German politician
• Hans-Bernd Schäfer (born 1943), German economist and scholar
• Manfred Schäfer (1943–2023), German-Australian retired professional footballer
• Wolf Schäfer (born 1942), German-American historian
• Wolfgang Schäfer (born 1945), German choral conductor and academic

Born after 1949

• Winfried Schäfer (born 1950), German football manager
• Anita Schäfer (born 1951), German politician
• Axel Schäfer (born 1952), German politician
• Klaus Schäfer (catholic theologian) (born 1958), German catholic theologian, priest and author
• Michael Schäfer (born 1959), Danish football manager
• Markus Schäfer (born 1961), German tenor
• Bärbel Schäfer (born 1963), German television presenter
• Christine Schäfer (born 1965), German soprano
• Ingo Schäfer (born 1965), German politician
• Thomas Schäfer (politician) (1966−2020) German lawyer and politician, Minister of Finance in Hesse
• Dagmar Schäfer (born 1968), German sinologist and historian of science
• Jan Schäfer (born 1974), German Olympic canoer
• Raphael Schäfer (born 1979), German footballer
• Marcel Schäfer (born 1984), German footballer
• András Schäfer (born 1999), Hungarian footballer

Schäffer

Born after 1800

• Saint Anna Schäffer (1882–1925), German mystic, canonized by Pope Benedict in 2012
• Charles Schäffer (1838–1903), American physician and botanist
• Fritz Schäffer (1888–1967), German politician
• Hugo Schäffer (1875-1945), German politician
• Julius Schäffer (1882–1944), German mycologist
• Mary Schäffer Warren (1861–1939), American naturalist, illustrator, and explorer in Canada

Born after 1950

• Andreas Schäffer (born 1984), German footballer

Schafer

Born after 1800

• Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer (1850–1935), English physiologist

Born after 1900

• Natalie Schafer (1900–1991), American actress
• Harold Schafer (1912–2001), American entrepreneur
• Alice Turner Schafer (1915–2009), American mathematician
• Richard D. Schafer (1918–2014), American mathematician
• Roy Schafer (1922–2018), American psychologist-psychoanalyst
• R. Murray Schafer (1933–2021), Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist
• Ronald W. Schafer (born 1938), American electrical engineer and academic
• Ed Schafer (born 1946), American state politician and United States Secretary of Agriculture

Born after 1950

• Avi Schafer (born 1998), Japanese basketball player
• Tim Schafer (born 1967), American computer game designer
• Arthur Schafer (living), Canadian ethicist and academic
• Eric Schafer (born 1977), American mixed martial artist
• Jordan Schafer (born 1986), American baseball player
• Hunter Schafer (born 1999), American model, activist, and actress
• Sakura Schafer-Nameki, German physicist

Schaffer

Born after 1800

• Károly Schaffer (1864–1939), Hungarian anatomist and neurologist
• Alfréd Schaffer (1893–1945), Hungarian footballer

Born after 1900

• Jimmie Schaffer (born 1936), American baseball player
• Janne Schaffer (born 1945), Swedish songwriter and guitarist

Born after 1950

• Simon Schaffer (born 1955), English academic
• Frank Schaffer (born 1958), East German Olympic athlete
• Bob Schaffer (born 1962), American state politician
• Jon Schaffer (born 1968), American guitarist and songwriter
• Daniel Schaffer (born 1969), British graphic novelist
• Akiva Schaffer (born 1977), American comedy writer and songwriter
• Denny Schaffer (living), American radio personality
• Gail Schaffer (living), American state politician
• Ken Schaffer (living), American inventor
• Lewis Schaffer (born 1957), American comedian
• Jonathan Schaffer (living), American-Australian philosopher

Shafer

Born after 1800

• Jacob K. Shafer (1823–1876), American national politician
• William T. Shafer (1825–1882), American politician from Pennsylvania
• Orator Shafer (1851–1922), American baseball player
• John Adolph Shafer (1863–1918), American botanist
• Taylor Shafer (1866–1945), American baseball player
• George F. Shafer (1888–1948), American state politician
• Tillie Shafer (1889–1962), American baseball player
• Phil Shafer (1891–1971), American racecar driver
• Paul W. Shafer (1893–1954), American politician

Born after 1900

• Ruth Shafer (1912 – 1972), American engineer
• Raymond P. Shafer (1917–2006), American state politician
• Whitey Shafer (1934–2019), American country songwriter and musician
• Drew Shafer (1936–1989), American gay rights activist
• Glenn Shafer (born 1946), American mathematician, co-developer of Dempster-Shafer theory

Born after 1950

• Grant Shafer (born 1951), American biblical scholar and Judaic historian
• Jack Shafer (born 1951), American journalist and columnist
• Ross Shafer (born 1954), American comedian and motivational speaker
• Robert R. Shafer (born 1958), American actor
• Dirk Shafer (born 1962), American model, actor, screenwriter and director
• Scott Shafer (born 1967), American college football coach
• David Shafer (politician) (born 1965), American politician
• Jeremy Shafer (born 1970s), American entertainer and oragamist
• Justin Shafer (born 1992), American baseball player

Shaffer

Born after 1800

• Shaffer (baseball), baseball player
• John Shaffer (1827–1870), American territorial governor
• John D. Shaffer (1858–1931), American politician in Iowa
• John Shaffer (1864–1926), American baseball player
• Joseph Crockett Shaffer (1880–1958), American national politician
• Harry G. Shaffer (1885–1971), American state politician

Born after 1900

• Anthony Shaffer (writer) (1926–2001), English playwright, novelist, and screenwriter
• David Shaffer (born 1936), American physician
• Earl Shaffer (1918–2002), American outdoorsman and author
• Elaine Shaffer (1925–1973), American flutist
• Harry G. Shaffer (1919-2009), Austrian-American economics academic
• Jack Shaffer (1909–1963), American professional basketball player
• James Shaffer (1910–2014), American religious leader
• Jim G. Shaffer (born 1944), American archeology and anthropology academic
• John H. Shaffer (1919–1997), American government administrator
• Juliet Popper Shaffer (born 1932), American psychologist and statistician
• Lee Shaffer (born 1939), American professional basketball player
• Leland Shaffer (1912–1993), American professional football player
• Louise Shaffer (born 1942), American actress, script writer, and author
• Tim Shaffer (1945-2011), American politician
• Mary Shaffer (born 1947), American artist
• Paul Shaffer (born 1949), Canadian-American musician, actor, author, comedian and composer
• Sir Peter Shaffer (1926–2016), English dramatist and playwright
• Robert H. Shaffer (1915–2017), American educator

Born after 1950

• Anthony Shaffer (born 1962), American Reserve Army Lieutenant Colonel and CIA intelligence officer
• Erica Shaffer (born 1970), American actress
• James Shaffer (born 1970), American guitarist
• Matthew Shaffer (born 1978), American musical theatre, television, and film actor
• Brian Shaffer (born 1979), missing American medical student
• Kevin Shaffer (born 1980), American professional football player
• Atticus Shaffer (born 1998), American actor
• Justin Shaffer (born 1998), American football player
• Brenda Shaffer (living), American political science author
• Chris Shaffer (living), American singer-songwriter
• Kyle Shaffer (living), Retired Combat Disabled Marine and Doctor
• Deborah Shaffer (living), American filmmaker

See also

• Schafferer
• Schieffer
• Sheaffer
• Shepherd (surname)
• Schaap, surname
• Schaper, surname
• Michiel Schapers (b. 1959), Dutch tennis player
• Schaps, surname
• Schapira, surname
• Shapira, surname
• Shapiro, surname
• Shapiro, surname