Schneider
A classic German occupational surname meaning “tailor.”
The #312 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,048 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Schneider is the German word for a tailor or cutter. It comes from the verb schneiden, “to cut,” continuing earlier Middle High German sniden and Old High German snidan. The surname therefore began as an occupational name for someone who cut cloth for a living.
History
It became one of the most common German surnames, especially in German-speaking towns and cities. Nineteenth-century surname writers regularly glossed it simply as “tailor,” and the name spread widely through German emigration to North America and elsewhere. English-speaking records sometimes reshaped it into forms like Snyder or Snider.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes ranked Schneider among the most common German family names, alongside Müller, Schmidt, and Schulze.
From the historical record
“O.H.Ger. smid, smith] SCHNEIDER (Ger.) Tailor, Cutter [f. Ger. schneiden, M.H.Ger. sniden, O.H.Ger. snidan, to cut] SCHRODER SCHROEDER SCHROETER SCHROTER (Ger.) Cutter .[f. Ger. schroten, M.H.Ger. schrdten,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Schneider
- Rob Schneider (b. 1963)
- Maria Schneider (1952–2011)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.