Snedker

This extraordinary surname has developed from an origin which is both old English and Norse-Viking. It is habitational and translates as one resident at the "Snaed" - a piece of land or former woodland which has been cleared of "Kjarr", the latter being the Norse word for brushwood. The surname has always been rare and probably originated in the main "Viking" areas of Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmoreland, but if so the name does not appear in the early records of the counties. The spelling has occasionally been transposed to an even more unusual spelling in "Sneaker" but this is almost as rare as Snedker. The few recordings include Benjamin Snedker who married Ann Loveless at St. Pancras old Church on January 28th 1858. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Lydia Snedker, which was dated February 17th 1788, christened at St. Annes church, Soho London, during the reign of King George 111, known as "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.