I am curious about your opinion (and that of your readers)
I LOVE the name Shepherd and am considering using it for Baby No. 3 but my husband and I are not religious – bordering on atheism. Does it have too much of a biblical flare to make sense for us?Thoughts?
This name came up in yesterday’s post as well, with the same concern, and I’m interested enough to have a whole post on the name. As I mentioned yesterday, I had to think for a moment to discover the religious connection—despite being a pastor’s daughter who grew up very familiar with Jesus/pastor-as-shepherd imagery. The association is diluted by actual non-metaphorical shepherds, German Shepherds, Cybill Shepherd, Sam Shepard, Sherri Shepherd, Matthew Shepard, Alan Shepard, etc.
Sometimes with such things it’s helpful to ask the question from the other side: “Does Shepherd seem biblical if someone doesn’t want it to be?” AND “Does Shepherd seem biblical if someone wants it to be?” For example, if someone were writing here saying they were very religious and wanted to use only biblical names for their children, and did we think Shepherd qualified as biblical, what would we say?
I think I would say it’s a word-name that could be made to have an association with certain religious imagery, but that I wouldn’t think of it as a religious/biblical name per se. It’s a little like saying Lily is a biblical name because Jesus tells a story about the lilies of the field, or that Reed is a biblical name because Moses was in a basket of reeds: it can have that meaning for the family, if the family wants it to, but if I met someone named Lily or Reed I wouldn’t make the connection without being told.
In fact, on further thought, if I encountered a child named Shepherd, I think I would assume the family was NOT religious, because if the family WERE religious, I’d think they’d recoil a bit from seeming to compare their child to Jesus. It reminds me of the more extreme example of the name Trinity: it’s a very religious/biblical word, but not one I’d expect to see used as a name in a religious family.
Shepherd/Shepard is interesting because I think the different spellings could make a big difference. Shepherd is an occupational name as well as a surname name—like Baker, or Deacon, or Archer. Shepard is a surname name. If you want to reduce/avoid shepherd/sheep/Jesus imagery, I’d use Shepard.
When I hear Shepherd/Shepard, I immediately think of it as a surname name, not as a Biblical name. I have this reaction even though I went to Catholic school for my entire life and have definitely been exposed to religion/The Bible plenty. The only way I think I’d possibly consider the name of Shepherd/Shepard to have a religious link is if it was part of a sibset with more blatantly religious names, i.e. Moses, Job, Zachariah, etc. You mentioned that this is Baby No. 3 and since I doubt that you named the first two Mary and Joseph (or something similar), I think Shepherd would be a great name for the next child.
I am yesterday’s Original Poster. I do not think of religion automatically when I hear Shepard/Shephard despite being raised Catholic, especially as a first name. But I think pairings make a difference. We were thinking of using it as a honor middle name and paired with our sons overly religious (to me) name Noah Jacob & an Apostle first name for DS2, we just felt it was too much. We did not want a repeat of a super religious name bc it’s just not us. So something like Matthew John sounds religious to me (Matthew Mark Luke & John) but neither name alone sounds as religious. I hope that makes sense!
Boys names are so hard because they all seem to stem from the Bible. I think you are fine using Shepard as a first name without it seeming religious.
I’m Catholic, and I wouldn’t automatically see Shepherd as religious. I’d be surprised to hear a super-Catholic family using Shepherd. (Though if it were a family name, it is certainly possible, and I wouldn’t object to it in any way.)
If I was introduced to Shepherd and his sisters Praise and Glory, I’d assume there was something going on. And I have come across a handful of families with spiritual word names that emphasize their Christian faith.
But overall, I really like Shepherd – and the images of the constant, watchful shepherd tending his flock is a positive one – gentle but strong and steady, too.
Ha! Yes. Shepherd, Praise & Glory. Best sib set ever.
I think of it as a surname more than biblical. I was raised going Christian church but I am now atheist (though I do still occasionally attend Lutheran church when my MIL wants the whole family to be there for major holiday services). I think as long as the name were not paired with another highly recognizable biblical name, I wouldn’t think of it. It actually makes me think more of Grey’s Anatomy since the characters use last names frequently.
Oh no! I’m the original post-er of this question and you just pointed out something. I have never seen an episode of Grey’s Anatomy however I have been told there is a character named Thatcher – our other son’s name.
Thoughts on Shepherd and Thatcher together? I know the show was a big hit but it’s simply a coincidence!
I’m a big fan of Grey’s and had to pause and think about who Thatcher was. Definitely not a main character. I really don’t think people would make that connection.
I think Shep is such a great nickname. I have to think for a moment about Shepherd, but I am not religious at all.
I think I might go with Shepard to avoid all connotations, if that was a concern.
Honestly, I think of religiously oriented names as biblical names more than virtue names or occupation names. Shepard (or Shepherd) isn’t my style, but I don’t necessarily see it as religious.
If it does bother you, or you will think about it when you think about your son (or if you think you might have the urge to introduce yourselves as Hi I am Julie, and this is my son Shepard. We aren’t religious we just liked the name) then you should probably think about choosing another name in similar categories that tend non-religious
For example: Occupation names- Mason, Chandler, Brenner, Carter, Miller, Smith, Ranger or Wheeler
Or Surname Names: Franklin, Anderson, Kenyon, Hendrix, Guthrie
Or even virtue names: Sage, Worth, Merit, or August.
I am not religious at all, so I certainly didn’t come up with any religious connection at all. I already had it in my head to write that Shepard looks less religious than Shepherd but swistle beat me to it. I think Shep is a neat, uncommon nn. If you both love it, then I would use it!
We are Christians, and I didn’t draw any conclusions with the name. I’d tend to think it’s more of a non religious name. I think of it as a surname and then, as the job (I keep thinking “and there were shepherds in the field nearby”). And that’s all. I think those who are religious and know the bible well tend to go with names that are actually used as names in the bible.
I think any name with religious connotations that’s as stylish as Shepherd will probably also catch on with secular families (Think Noah or Joshua or Calvin).
I do think of Shepherd/Shepard as having a “Christian feeling,” but not as much as names you find in the bible or the name Christian. Additionally, the only people I know who have named children Shepherd are non-religious people, so there you go. I don’t think it will cause people who know you well to think “OH! They’ve changed their minds and are religious now!” but I’m sure some people will assume it is a biblical reference. Everyone will have their own opinion of the name you choose, anyway.
Good luck!
I was going to say that Shepherd only seems religious to me if other children in the family have biblical names, but then I read the previous post and realized that was one of the issues – biblical/religious sounding names with a family that wasn’t that religious. So now I guess I’d better stop assuming families with multiple biblical names for their kids are religious. Yet another secret clue to people’s lives that fails in actual practice.
For the record, I like Shepard a lot, and don’t get a religious connotation, especially from that spelling.
Shepherd/Shepard strikes me first as a surname name, second as an occupation name, and (for what it’s worth) also as a dog name. I’ve never met a human whose first name is Shepherd/Shepard, but I’ve heard of a few dogs named Shep.
I grew up going to a United church but don’t go regularly as an adult. I can’t picture exactly where in the Bible Shepherd comes from other than the phrase “the Lord is my shepherd” and mention of shepherds in the Christmas story. I agree with an above post that if I met three kids named Shepherd, Praise and Glory, it would seem religious (though for me it would still be a vague religious connection), but if I met Shepherd, Leo and Juliet, I wouldn’t think of Shepherd as religious at all.
I’ve struggled with this as well. My husband and I are agnostic and athiest but both of our children have biblical names (one a place name and one a person name) and I adore Shepard. If we have a baby 3 and it is a boy, I am worried about a biblical theme (however I don’t want to pick a name that isn’t biblical if I don’t like it as much). I think Shep is a great nickname too!
To me, Shepherd seems pretty biblical. (For a frame of reference, I was raised Catholic but am non-theist.) However, I don’t feel the same association for Shepard, which seems to fit in more with the surname-name trend.
Shepard/Shepherd doesn’t read religious to me. Like Abby said, if it was part of a Biblical sib set then I would see it. But it would take me a second to even think of it.
I think of Shepherd/Shepard as religious in an abstract sense. My thought process was Shepherd-> person who herds sheep-> vague image of sheep on a mountain top-> a pastor (only because people brought up religion in association with it)-> Jesus metaphor. I probably wouldn’t have made the connection to religion if it wasn’t brought up by other people. I also went to Catholic school for 14 years. I would actually say I have a bit of a bias too since our local priest’s last name was Shepherd (a coincidence). I would by no means but it in the same category as Mary, Noah, Moses, Peter, Eve….
I really like the name Shepherd. I think it fits into the “occupation names’/”surname first name” trend alongside Miller, Mason, Archer etc. I also think Shep is an amazing nickname.
Fun fact (not that anyone is still reading this conversation after 9 years). “El pastor” is “the shepherd” in Spanish. (My new grandson’s name is Shepherd, hence while I’m going down this bunny trail.)
Hmmm, Christian here. I would not assume it was biblical because of the surname/occupation aspect of it. However I have considered using it as a middle name if I were to have a boy as a religious impartation. I would not want it to imply “good shepherd” however. If I had a boy born around the holidays I might use it as my favorite part of the Christmas story is when the angels announced the birth of Christ to men who were shepherds and not kings or royalty, meaning that whatever my child did with his life may he find favor with God. I don’t see a problem with an atheist using it however. It did bring to mind the show Firefly in which the pastor was called Shepherd.
It does seem Christian to me, but not overly religious–like I wouldn’t assume that a Matthew’s family is super religious, even though it’s an apostle name.
I also have the highly positive connotation of the hero Commander Shepard from the 3 excellent Mass Effect games, and I expect that this name will actually be pretty popular with a younger gaming crowd because of that hero.
FWIW, my first connection was to the TV show where there is a character known as “Shepherd”. In his case, it actually is a religious title, but it’s pretty much used as his name throughout the show, and it’s a made up religion. So I definitely think “name” more so than “religious” connotations.
Nope, I don’t think religious/biblical. I think because the only Shepherd/Shepards I’ve known (and those were in passing or through hearsay–it’s rare) were the children of “artsy”, bohemian, or otherwise liberal and non-religious people. I also think of the artist Shepard Fairey, who is pretty much the antithesis of conservative and religious! (He does those big billboard illustrations with “OBEY” written under them, and also did campaign posters in a similar style for Obama.)
Personally I think the Shepherd spelling is more pleasing, but that’s just me!
I certainly don’t think Shepherd is in the same category as Christian, Evangeline (a name I love, but I think it automatically suggestive of religion), or Faith.
I am a religious person and as soon as I read this name, it did not even cross my mind that it is religious-y. I, like the others, immediately thought of it as a Surname.
Another one who thinks of Shepard Fairey
We are Christians and as the daughter of a pastor I was raised going to church 3 times a week – and Shepherd/Shepard certainly does not seem religious to me! I prefer Shepard. I love this name and would love to use it, but a friend beat me to it and I thought, How have I never thought of this name before??
I agree that if I wanted to use a “religious” name, I would name a child after a Bible character (like Hezekiah or Esther). I hope you use Shepherd/Shepard!
The name is religious to me, but that’s probably because the only Shepherd I know was given that name because of its religious connotation.
I’m from Idaho and I feel like regionally, the name feels western. Like Wyatt, Bridger, Shepherd. Probably because Shep is a stereotypical cattle dog name (and i don’t mean in a negative way). I personally feel that Shepherd stands alone as a wonderful boy’s name.
I agree, it also feels like it goes along with names like Hunter and Fischer. Doesn’t read Biblical at all to me.
Im a 45 year old man. My full names Shepard “Shep” Jericho Cannon. Ive never thought of my name as religious. Of course Im open minded and not very big on religion myself.