Schaefer is an alternative spelling and

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

for the German word ''schäfer'', meaning 'shepherd', which itself descends from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

'' scāphare''. Variants "Shaefer", "Schäfer" (a standardized spelling in many German-speaking countries after 1880), the additional alternative spelling "Schäffer", and the

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

forms "Schaeffer", "Schaffer", "Shaffer", "Shafer", and "Schafer" are all common

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Schaefer

;Born in 1800–1899 *

Arnold Schaefer Arnold Dietrich Schaefer (16 October 1819 in Seehausen, today part of Bremen – 19 November 1883 in Bonn) was a German ancient historian, who was a professor of history at the University of Greifswald (1857-1865) and then at the University of Bon ...

(1819–1883), German historian *

Germany Schaefer Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer (February 4, 1876 – May 16, 1919) was a second baseman, first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Newark Peppers, New ...

(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 William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 197 ...

(1921–2011), American politician *

Udo Schaefer Udo Schaefer (October 19, 1926 – August 30, 2019) was a German lawyer and a theologian of the Baháʼí Faith. Education Schafer received a Doctor of Law degree in church law from Heidelberg University, Rupert Carola University. Career Scha ...

(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 Kermit Schafer (March 24, 1914 – March 8, 1979) was an American writer and producer for radio and television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known for his collections of "bloopers"—the word Schafer popularized for mistakes and gaffes o ...

(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

Schaeffer

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) Karl Schäfer (17 May 1909 – 23 April 1976) was an Austrian single skating, figure skater and swimmer. In figure skating, he became a two-time Olympic champion at the Figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics, 1932 Winter Olympics and the Figur ...

(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 Manfred Schaefer (12 February 1943 – 28 March 2023) was a German soccer player who played as a defender. At club level he won titles with St. George Budapest. Born in Germany, he represented the Australian national team internationally, pa ...

(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 Winfried "Winnie" Schäfer (born 10 January 1950) is a German football manager and former player who is the technical director for the Ghana national football team. Playing career Winfried Schäfer played 403 Bundesliga matches and scored 46 goa ...

(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) Thomas Schäfer (; 22 February 1966 – 28 March 2020) was a German lawyer and politician for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). He was Minister of Finance of Hesse between 2010 and 2020. Early life and education Schäfer was bor ...

(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 András Schäfer (born 13 April 1999) is a Hungarian professional association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Bundesliga club 1. FC Union Berlin, Union Berlin and the Hungary national football team, Hungary national t ...

(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 Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer (2 June 1850 – 29 March 1935) was a British physiologist. He is regarded as a founder of endocrinology: in 1894 he discovered and demonstrated the existence of adrenaline together with George Oliver, and he a ...

(1850–1935), English physiologist ;Born after 1900 *

Natalie Schafer Natalie Schafer (November 5, 1900 – April 10, 1991) was an American actress, best known today for her role as Lovey Howell on the sitcom '' Gilligan's Island'' (1964–1967). Early life and career Natalie Schafer was born on November 5, ...

(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 Edward Thomas Schafer (born August 8, 1946) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 30th governor of North Dakota from 1992 to 2000 and as the 29th United States secretary of agriculture from 2008 to 2009 under President Georg ...

(born 1946), American state politician and United States Secretary of Agriculture ;Born after 1950 *

Avi Schafer is a Japanese professional basketball player for SeaHorses Mikawa of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Schafer has been a member of the Japan national basketball team. Early life Schafer was ...

(born 1998), Japanese basketball player *

Tim Schafer Timothy John Schafer (born July 26, 1967) is an American video game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in July 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts. Schafer is best known as the designer of critically acclaimed games '' ...

(born 1967), American computer game designer * Arthur Schafer (living), Canadian ethicist and academic *

Eric Schafer Eric John Schafer (born September 20, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, he competed for the UFC. Background Schafer attended the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Schafer is a black belt in ...

(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 Jan Erik Tage "Janne" Schaffer (born 24 September 1945) is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and To ...

(born 1945), Swedish songwriter and guitarist ;Born after 1950 *

Simon Schaffer Simon J. Schaffer (born 1 January 1955) is a historian of science, previously a professor of the history and philosophy of science at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and was editor of '' The B ...

(born 1955), English academic * Frank Schaffer (born 1958), East German Olympic athlete * Bob Schaffer (born 1962), American state politician *

Jon Schaffer Jon Ryan Schaffer ( ; born March 15, 1968) is an American heavy metal musician. He is the rhythm guitarist, bandleader and principal songwriter of the Indiana-based heavy metal band Iced Earth, which he formed in 1985 under the name Purgatory. ...

(born 1968), American guitarist and songwriter *

Daniel Schaffer Dan Schaffer (born 3 February 1969) is a British writer/artist working primarily in comics and film. He is best known as the writer and illustrator of cult comic book series, '' Dogwitch''. He is also the co-creator/artist of '' Indigo Vertigo' ...

(born 1969), British graphic novelist *

Akiva Schaffer Akiva Daniel Shebar Schaffer (; born December 1, 1977) is an American writer, producer, director, comedian, actor, and musician. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Andy Samberg and Jorma Tacc ...

(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 Jonathan Schaffer is an American philosopher specializing in metaphysics and also working in epistemology, mind, and language. He is best known for his work on grounding and his development of monism, and is also a notable proponent of contrast ...

(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 John Adolph Shafer (February 23, 1863 – February 1, 1918) was an American botanist. Life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shafer graduated from the Pittsburgh School, of Pharmacy in 1881 and worked as a pharmacist until after his marri ...

(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 Sanger D. Shafer (October 24, 1934 – January 12, 2019),
- at Drew Shafer (1936–1989), American gay rights activist *

Glenn Shafer Glenn Shafer (born November 21, 1946) is an American mathematician and statistician. He is the co-creator of Dempster–Shafer theory. He is a University Professor and Board of Governors Professor at Rutgers University. Early life and education S ...

(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 Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1951 is an American journalist who wrote about media for ''Politico'' until June 2024. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for ''Reuters'', wrote and edited for ''Slate'', and edited two city weeklies, ''Washi ...

(born 1951), American journalist and columnist * Ross Shafer (born 1954), American comedian and motivational speaker * Robert R. Shafer (born 1958), American actor *

Dirk Shafer Dirk Alan Shafer (November 7, 1962 – March 5, 2015) was an American model, actor, screenwriter and director. Born in Carbondale, Illinois, he was most noted in the modeling world for having been ''Playgirl'' magazine's 1992 "Man of the Year". S ...

(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 Justin Healy Shafer (born September 18, 1992) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. He played in Majo ...

(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) Anthony Joshua Shaffer (15 May 19266 November 2001) was a British playwright, screenwriter, novelist, barrister, and advertising executive. He is best remembered for his Tony Award winning play '' Sleuth'', and its acclaimed 1972 film adaptati ...

(1926–2001), English playwright, novelist, and screenwriter * David Shaffer (born 1936), American physician *

Earl Shaffer Earl V. Shaffer (November 8, 1918 – May 5, 2002), was an American outdoorsman and author known from 1948 as The Crazy One (and eventually as The Original Crazy One) for attempting what became the first publicized claimed hiking trip in a single ...

(1918–2002), American outdoorsman and author *

Elaine Shaffer Elaine Shaffer (October 22, 1925 – February 19, 1973) was an American flutist and principal of the Houston Symphony Orchestra between 1948 and 1953. Biography Elaine Shaffer was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She attended the Curtis Insti ...

(1925–1973), American flutist * Harry G. Shaffer (1919-2009), Austrian-American economics academic * Jack Shaffer (1909–1963), American professional basketball player *

James Shaffer James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as a co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He was ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal G ...

(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 Lee Philip Shaffer II (born February 23, 1939) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward born in Chicago, Shaffer starred at the University of North Carolina, where he was the ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year ...

(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 Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

(born 1949), Canadian-American musician, actor, author, comedian and composer * Sir

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays '' Equus'' and '' Amadeus'', the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with an ...

(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 *

(born 1970), American guitarist *

Matthew Shaffer Matthew Joseph Shaffer (born May 4, 1978) is an American musical theatre, television, and film actor, director, executive producer, author, and choreographer. He was born in Florence, Colorado, USA. Career Shaffer began his career in Southern Ca ...

(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 *Deborah Shaffer (living), American filmmaker

References

{{Surname, Schaefer Occupational surnames German-language surnames Surnames of Jewish origin de:Schäfer (Familienname)