Snawden

This name is of northern English or Scottish locational origin from a place in the West Riding of Yorkshire called Snowden or from the lands of Snawdone in the bailliary of Lawderdaill. Both places derive their name from the Old English pre 7th Century 'Snaw' meaning 'snow', plus 'dun' a hill or mountain i.e., a hill where snow lay for long periods. The name is well recorded in Yorkshire Church Registers under the variant spellings Snawdon, Snawden, Sneden and Snaden from the mid 16th Century, (see below). On May 16th 1666 Mary, daughter of William Snaden, was christened in All Saints, Wakefield. In Midlothian Church Registers the name appears as Snadin, Snedden, Sneddon and Snadden. On January 13th 1871 the birth of one William Snadden was recorded in West Calder, Midlothian. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alicia Snawdon married Georgius Haggiston, which was dated May 19th 1544 in Wensley Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as Bluff King Hal, 1509 - 1547. 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.