An English and Scottish surname, Sheppard comes from the Old English term of ‘sceaphierde’ and the Middle English term ‘schepherde’ which means a guardian of livestock. The spelling variations for Sheppard include Shepherd, Shephard, Shepperd and Sheppeard. In England the Sheppard surname covers most of the England and a good amount of the Wales region. The greater population of Sheppard families live in the city of London, Somerset, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. In Scotland the Sheppard family name is mostly found in Angus, Perthshire, Lanarkshire, Midlothian and Fife. Within the United States the Sheppard families are concentration in Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Famous: Bob Sheppard (musician), John Sheppard (English 16th century music composer), Scott S. Sheppard (astronomer), Katherine W. Sheppard (leader for women’s suffrage movement in New Zealand), Lito Sheppard (professional football player), Joseph Sheppard (actor), Jeff K. Sheppard (professional basketball player) and Curtis Sheppard (professional early boxer).