Snipes
A surname with uncertain roots, likely a nickname or altered form related to “snipe,” the bird name.
The #4,205 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 36,633 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably connected with the English word "snipe," the name of the bird, though the exact path into a family name is not certain. In some cases it may have begun as a nickname for someone thought to resemble the bird in some way, or as a variant of a similar-sounding surname. The final -s can sometimes reflect a patronymic-style spelling or a later pluralized form.
History
The name appears in English-language surname records in forms that can vary in spelling, including Snipes and possibly related forms such as Snipe or Spine in older sources. Because the surviving evidence is thin and the cited source only mentions the form incidentally, there is no firm historical account of a single origin line. The surname is now best known in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The word "snipe" also gave English the verb "to snipe," originally referring to shooting at snipes, the bird.
From the historical record
“Silver. Snipes. Spine. Shirt.”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames