Sneed
An English surname usually linked to a cut-off strip of land or to a scythe shaft, with roots in old words for cutting or clearing.
The #2,027 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,341 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is generally treated as a variant of Snead or Sneyd. In the older English place-name sense, it refers to a cut-off piece of land, a clearing, or a detached strip of ground. Some writers also connect it with the Old English word for a shaft or handle, especially the shaft of a scythe, which comes from the same broad idea of something cut or trimmed.
History
Historical sources place Snead/Sneed mainly in English local-name usage, with early references in Staffordshire and Worcestershire. The spelling Sneed appears as a later or simplified form alongside Snead and Sneyd. In modern usage the name is especially found in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century compiler glossed the name with the vivid image of a field or strip of land that had been cut away from the rest.
From the historical record
“SNEAD 1 (Eng.) Bel. to Snead or Sneath SNEED \ = the Cut-off Piece of Land; SNEATH I or Clearing [O.E. sndsd (=0.N. sttei^ ; f. sntSan, to cut] Snead, Montgora., was Snethe a.d. 1226-7; Snead, Wore, was Snede a.d. 1328-9, as was the Staff. Sneyd in 1410.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)