Total births
125
Boys' name · since 1990
Shafer
125 babies named Shafer in U.S. Social Security records since 1990, with the highest year being 1994. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- 125
- total births
- 1990–2018
- years on record
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 38%
- born in that decade
Shafer is not among the current top-ranked boys names; 125 have been recorded since 1990.
Shafer has 125 recorded births among boys since 1990, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, though it falls outside today's most-used boys names, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1990 to 2018.
- 125 total births
- 1990–2018 years on record
- 1990s peak decade
- 38% born in that decade
Data updated Jul 2026
The verdict
125 boys have been named Shafer since 1990, peaking in the 1990s, last recorded in 2018.
- 125
- total births
- 1990–2018
- years on record
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 38%
- born in that decade
1990s
Peak decade
38% of everyone ever named Shafer was born in this single decade.
1994
Single peak year
11 babies were named Shafer in 1994 - its busiest year on record.
Shafer's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Shafer's SSA record in two at 2004 and the more recent half accounts for 48% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 52%, a genuinely balanced usage pattern. Its calmest year was 1991, with only 5 births recorded -- set against the 1994 peak of 11, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Shafer at a glance
Last recorded 2018Peak year
1994
Current rank
Unranked
Active since
1990
Shafer popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1990–2018
- Peak year (1994)
- 11
- Annual births at peak, across 29 years of records
Shafer by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Shafer's strongest decade.
48 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 38% of all-time use.
Shafer births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1990s
1990s
48 births
- 2000s
2000s
48 births
- 2010s
2010s
29 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 48 births (38% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Shafer? ▼
Shafer has been given to 125 babies in the U.S. since 1990, according to SSA data. Its last appearance in the data was 2018. 11 babies were born in 1994, its single highest year.
When was Shafer most popular? ▼
Shafer was most popular in the 1990s decade with 48 total births. The single peak year was 1994.
How long has the name Shafer been used? ▼
Records for Shafer go back to 1990, giving 29 years of history through 2018.
What names are similar to Shafer? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Shawn, Shane, Shaun, Shannon, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.
What to do with Shafer's data
- Shafer's usage has stayed within range of its 1990s decade-level peak (48 total births) through the 2010s (29) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Shafer
Nearby Names Like Shafer
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Shafer
Shawn Boy
#637 306,542 births
Shane Boy
#601 192,583 births
Shaun Boy
#1567 70,481 births
Shannon Boy
#2597 52,379 births
Shayne Boy
#4006 10,741 births
Compare Shafer side by side: Shafer vs Shawn Shafer vs Shane Shafer vs Shaun
Related Names
Names with a similar number of total births
Data Sources
Data as of July 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1990–2018 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Shafer: Baby Name Since 1990 - 125 Births, Peak 1994." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/shafer. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Shafer draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026.