Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • German : humanistic name, a Latinized form of Schäfer ‘shepherd’ (see Schafer).
  • Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651–1719), from Sommershausen near Frankfurt, Germany, arrived in Philadelphia in 1683. Under his leadership plans were made for the city of Germantown, PA, of which he became mayor in 1691. He was one of the signers of the first Quaker protest against slavery in America.

Subscribe to Family Education

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe