Snape

Snape
This unusual surname may be either of Anglo-Saxon or of Old Norse origin. If the former, the name is locational from the parish and village of Snape, south of Saxmundham in East Suffolk. Recorded as "Snapes" in the Domesday Book of 1086, the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century "snaep", scanty grassland, or poor piece of grazing land. In Sussex, the dialectal term "snape" is still used of boggy, uncultivated land, and Snape, a minor place south west of Wadhurst in Sussex, was probably named from this source. The name may, of course, also be topographical from residence by a poor piece of land as the following early recordings show: Henry de la Snape and John atte Snape (Sussex, 1273 and 1327, respectively). Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages, and locational surnames were given as a means of identification to those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. The surname may also be of northern English origin, and locational from Snape in Lancashire and Yorkshire, so called from the Old Norse "snap", cognate with the Olde English "snaep" (above). In 1526, one James Snape was noted in the "Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath", Lanarkshire, Scotland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agnes del Snape, which was dated 1242, in the "Chartulary of the Monastery of Ramsey", Huntingdonshire, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Snape — may refer to:;Places: *Snape, Cheshire, England *Snape, Suffolk mdash; a small village, the site of: **Snape Maltings mdash; the home of part of the annual Aldeburgh Music Festival. *Fair Snape Fell mdash; one of the larger hills in the Forest of …   Wikipedia

  • Snape — ist der Name folgender Orte: ein Dorf in der englischen Grafschaft Suffolk, siehe Snape (Suffolk) ein Dorf in der englischen Grafschaft Yorkshire, siehe Snape (Yorkshire) eine Insel in der Hudson Bay, siehe Snapeinsel Snape ist der Familienname… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Snape — Snape, v. t. (Shipbuilding) To bevel the end of a timber to fit against an inclined surface. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • snape — (v.) to be hard upon, rebuke, snub, c.1300, from O.N. sneypa to outrage, dishonor, disgrace. Snaiping rebuking, reproaching, reviling is attested from early 14c …   Etymology dictionary

  • snape —  to snape or sneap, to check ; as, childre easily sneaped ; herbs and fruit sneaped with cold weather. It is a general word used all over England …   A glossary of provincial and local words used in England

  • Snape, Suffolk — Snape is a small village in the English county of Suffolk, on the River Alde close to Aldeburgh. It has about 600 inhabitants. Snape is now best known for Snape Maltings, no longer in commercial use, but converted into a tourist centre together… …   Wikipedia

  • Snape Maltings — is part of Snape, Suffolk, U.K., best known for its concert hall, which is one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival.The Maltings is a set of buildings, mostly dating from the 19th century, built on the banks of the River Ore near… …   Wikipedia

  • Snape (Suffolk) — 52.1702777777781.5005555555556 Koordinaten: 52° 10′ N, 1° 30′ O …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Snape boat grave — The Snape boat grave is a 6th century boat grave found at Snape Common, near Aldeburgh in Suffolk, East Anglia. This was the first boat grave of its kind discovered in England (since the ship found at Ashby Dell near Lowestoft, Suffolk in 1834 in …   Wikipedia

  • Snape, North Yorkshire — infobox UK place country = England static static image caption = latitude = 54.25366 longitude = 1.58976 official name = Snape population = shire district= Hambleton shire county = North Yorkshire region = Yorkshire and the Humber constituency… …   Wikipedia

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