Sneed
Possibly a contracted form of the English surname Snider.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Sneed. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sneed today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sneed births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sneed. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sneed. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,715
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Sneed: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sneed by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sneed during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sneed
The name Sneed finds its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, with its earliest known roots traced back to the 5th century AD. It is believed to have derived from the Old Saxon word "snid," meaning "to cut" or "to prune," suggesting a possible connection to occupations involving the use of blades or tools for cutting.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sneed can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. This historical document mentions a landowner named Sneed in the county of Essex.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sneed gained prominence among the nobility and landed gentry. One notable figure bearing this name was Sir Sneed Hastings, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. He was renowned for his bravery on the battlefield and was awarded several honors for his military service.
In the 16th century, the name Sneed appeared in various literary works, including William Shakespeare's play "Henry VI, Part 2," where a character named Sneed is mentioned briefly. This reference suggests that the name was well-known and in use during the Elizabethan era.
One of the most celebrated individuals with the name Sneed was Sneed Buckingham, an English philosopher and writer from the 17th century. Born in 1621, Buckingham was known for his influential works on ethics and political theory, including his seminal treatise "On the Nature of Morality."
Another notable figure was Sneed Hawthorne, an American author and poet who lived from 1804 to 1864. Hawthorne was a prominent figure in the New England literary renaissance and is best remembered for his novel "The Scarlet Letter," a classic work of American literature.
In more recent history, the name Sneed gained recognition through Sneed Davis, an American civil rights activist born in 1920. Davis played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and worked alongside renowned leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for racial equality and social justice.
These examples illustrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Sneed, which has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and across various eras, leaving an indelible mark on the annals of literature, philosophy, and social movements.
People
Sneed + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sneed as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sneed: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sneed?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sneed going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Sneed a common name?
We classify Sneed as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sneed most popular?
The single biggest year for Sneed was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sneed is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sneed in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sneed a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sneed in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sneed still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sneed in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sneed can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Sneed?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Sneed at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.