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", 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, German historian
- Germany Schaefer, American baseball player
- Jacob Schaefer Sr, American billiards player
- Jacob Schaefer Jr American billiards player
- Jacob Schaefer (composer), American composer and conductor
- Marie Charlotte Schaefer, American physician
- Rudolph Jay Schaefer I, American businessman
- Bill Schaefer (field hockey), New Zealand field hockey player
- Bob Schaefer, American baseball coach
- Daniel Schaefer, American politician
- Fred K. Schaefer, German and American geographer
- George Schaefer, American stage and film director
- Gerard John Schaefer, American killer, rapist, and suspected serial killer
- Henry F. Schaefer, III, American chemist, academic and Protestant educator
- Jack Warner Schaefer, American fiction author
- James Schaefer, American politician and rancher
- Kermit Schaefer, American writer, broadcast and Pardon My Blooper record series producer
- Milner Baily Schaefer, American fisheries biologist
- Ronald P. Schaefer, American linguist
- Udo Schaefer, German Bahá'í author
- Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist who developed cloud seeding
- Walter V. Schaefer, American jurist and educator
- Will Schaefer, American composer
- William Donald Schaefer, American politician
- Bradley E. Schaefer, American physicist
- Jarrett Schaefer, America film director and screenwriter
- Jeff Schaefer, American baseball player
- Kurt Schaefer, American academic
- Laura Schaefer (disambiguation), multiple people
- Matthew Schaefer, Canadian ice hockey player
- Nolan Schaefer, Canadian ice hockey player
- Peter Schaefer (author), American academic and religious history author
- Peter Schaefer (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
- Reid Schaefer, Canadian ice hockey player
- Richard Schaefer, Swiss boxing promoter and president of Anthem Sports Group
- Vic Schaefer, American basketball coach
Schäfer
;Born after 1800- Dirk Schäfer, Dutch pianist and composer
- Karl Emil Schäfer, German World War I pilot, recipient of the Pour le Mérite
- Wilhelm Schäfer, German naturalist writer and magazine publisher
- Barbara Schäfer, German politician
- Emanuel Schäfer, German SS officer, head of security police and SD in Serbia during World War II
- Ernst Schäfer, German hunter, zoologist and ornithologist
- Gustav Schäfer (rower), German Olympic rower
- Hans-Bernd Schäfer, German economist and scholar
- Hans Schäfer, German retired footballer
- Karl Heinz Schäfer, German-born composer and arranger working in France
- Karl Schäfer (figure skater), Austrian Olympic figure skater
- Manfred Schäfer, German-Australian retired professional footballer
- Paul Schäfer, German-Chilean cult leader
- Willy Schäfer (actor), German actor
- Willy Schäfer (handball player), Swiss Olympic field handball player
- Wolf Schäfer, German-American historian
- Wolfgang Schäfer, German choral conductor and academic
- András Schäfer, Hungarian footballer
- Anita Schäfer, German politician
- Axel Schäfer, German politician
- Bärbel Schäfer, German television presenter
- Carolina Schäfer, German athlete
- Christine Schäfer, German soprano
- Dagmar Schäfer, German sinologist and historian of science
- Ingo Schäfer, German politician
- Jan Schäfer, German Olympic canoer
- Klaus Schäfer (catholic theologian), German catholic theologian, priest and author
- Marcel Schäfer, German footballer
- Markus Schäfer, German tenor
- Michael Schäfer, Danish football manager
- Raphael Schäfer, German footballer
- Thomas Schäfer (politician) German lawyer and politician, Minister of Finance in Hesse
- Winfried Schäfer, German football manager
Schäffer
;Born after 1800- Saint Anna Schäffer, German mystic, canonized by Pope Benedict in 2012
- Charles Schäffer, American physician and botanist
- Fritz Schäffer, German politician
- Hugo Schäffer, German politician
- Julius Schäffer, German mycologist
- Mary Schäffer Warren, American naturalist, illustrator, and explorer in Canada
- Andreas Schäffer, German footballer
- Frank Schäffer, German footballer
- Verena Schäffer, German politician
Schafer
;Born after 1800- Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer, English physiologist
- Louisa Frederica Adela Schafer, English Esperantist, singer, translator and teacher
- Alice Turner Schafer, American mathematician
- Arthur Schafer, Canadian ethicist and academic
- Avi Schafer, Japanese basketball player
- Ed Schafer, American state politician and United States Secretary of Agriculture
- Eric Schafer, American mixed martial artist
- Harold Schafer, American entrepreneur
- Hunter Schafer, American model, activist, and actress
- Jordan Schafer, American baseball player
- Natalie Schafer, American actress
- Richard D. Schafer, American mathematician
- Ronald W. Schafer, American electrical engineer and academic
- Roy Schafer, American psychologist-psychoanalyst
- R. Murray Schafer, Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist
- Sakura Schafer-Nameki, German physicist
- Tim Schafer, American computer game designer
Schaffer
;Born after 1800- Alfréd Schaffer, Hungarian footballer
- Károly Schaffer, Hungarian anatomist and neurologist
- Janne Schaffer, Swedish songwriter and guitarist
- Jimmie Schaffer, American baseball player
- Akiva Schaffer, American comedy writer and songwriter
- Bob Schaffer, American state politician
- Daniel Schaffer, British graphic novelist
- Denny Schaffer, American radio personality
- Frank Schaffer, East German Olympic athlete
- Gail S. Shaffer, American state politician
- Jon Schaffer, American guitarist and songwriter
- Jonathan Schaffer, American-Australian philosopher
- Lewis Schaffer, American comedian
- Ken Schaffer, American inventor
- Simon Schaffer, English academic
Shafer
;Born after 1800- George F. Shafer, American state politician
- Jacob K. Shafer, American national politician
- John Adolph Shafer, American botanist
- Orator Shafer, American baseball player
- Paul W. Shafer, American politician
- Phil Shafer, American racecar driver
- Taylor Shafer, American baseball player
- Tillie Shafer, American baseball player
- William T. Shafer, American politician from Pennsylvania
- Drew Shafer, American gay rights activist
- Glenn Shafer, American mathematician, co-developer of Dempster-Shafer theory
- Raymond P. Shafer, American state politician
- Ruth Shafer, American engineer
- Whitey Shafer, American country songwriter and musician
- David Shafer (politician), American politician
- Dirk Shafer, American model, actor, screenwriter and director
- Jack Shafer, American journalist and columnist
- Jeremy Shafer, American entertainer and origamist
- Justin Shafer, American baseball player
- Robert R. Shafer, American actor
- Ross Shafer, American comedian and motivational speaker
- Scott Shafer, American college football coach
Shaffer
;Born after 1800- Shaffer (baseball), baseball player
- Harry G. Shaffer, American state politician
- John Shaffer, American territorial governor
- John D. Shaffer, American politician in Iowa
- John Shaffer, American baseball player
- Joseph Crockett Shaffer, American national politician
- Anthony Shaffer (writer), English playwright, novelist, and screenwriter
- David Shaffer, American physician
- Earl Shaffer, American outdoorsman and author
- Elaine Shaffer, American flutist
- Harry G. Shaffer, Austrian-American economics academic
- Jack Shaffer, American basketball player
- James Shaffer, American religious leader
- Jim G. Shaffer, American archeology and anthropology academic
- John H. Shaffer, American government administrator
- Juliet Popper Shaffer, American psychologist and statistician
- Lee Shaffer, American basketball player
- Leland Shaffer, American football player
- Louise Shaffer, American actress, scriptwriter, and author
- Mary Shaffer, American artist
- Paul Shaffer, Canadian-American musician, actor, author, comedian and composer
- Sir Peter Shaffer, English dramatist and playwright
- Robert H. Shaffer, American educator
- Tim Shaffer, American politician
- Anthony Shaffer, American Reserve Army Lieutenant Colonel and CIA intelligence officer
- Atticus Shaffer, American actor
- Brenda Shaffer, American political science author
- Brian Shaffer, missing American medical student
- Chris Shaffer, American singer-songwriter
- Deborah Shaffer, American filmmaker
- Erica Shaffer, American actress
- James Shaffer, American guitarist
- Justin Shaffer, American football player
- Kevin Shaffer, American football player
- Matthew Shaffer, American actor