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Snape Family History

Snape Surname Meaning

English: habitational name from Middle English snap (Old Norse snap) ‘poor pasture or winter pasture’. Of the many minor placenames containing this word in northern England, it was most probably Snape in Ormskirk (Lancashire), Snape in Well (North Yorkshire), or Snape in Sowerby (Yorkshire) that gave rise to the surname.

From Middle English snap snep (Old English snæp) possibly meaning ‘boggy piece of land’. This may be the source of Snape in Suffolk and of numerous minor places called Snap or Snape in Cheshire, Devon, Nottinghamshire, Sussex, and Wiltshire, but it is difficult to tell this apart from the word in the previous definition.

Snape (Farm) in Weston (Cheshire) is the likely source of the surname in Staffordshire, while one or other of the Sussex places gave rise to the Sussex surname Snepp. In Sussex, the dialect term snape is still used to denote an area of boggy, uncultivable land.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Snape family from?

You can see how Snape families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Snape family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Snape families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1891 there were 1,569 Snape families living in Lancashire. This was about 55% of all the recorded Snape's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Snape families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Snape surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Snape ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Snape. 12% of Snape men worked as a General Labourer and 65% of Snape women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Snape were Cotton Weaver and Unpaid Domestic Dut.

View Census Data for Snape | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    12%
  • Incapacitated
    5%
  • Bricklayer
    5%
  • Cotton Weaver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    65%
  • Cotton Weaver
    5%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Unpaid Domestic Dut
    3%

What Snape family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 35,000 census records available for the last name Snape. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Snape census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Snape

Passenger Lists

There are 3,000 immigration records available for the last name Snape. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Snape immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Snape. For the veterans among your Snape ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Snape military records

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