2000
#13,604
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,047
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.76
Rare Last name
Snedeker
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a tailor or one who cuts cloth.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,175 Americans carry the last name Snedeker. That puts it at #14,959 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 157,588 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Snedeker surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 157,588
Census rank
#14,959
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,897 bearers of the surname Snedeker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14959th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Snedeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Snedeker
The surname Snedeker is of Dutch origin, derived from the Middle Dutch word "snidecker," which translates to "woodcutter" or "woodcarver." The name likely originated in the Netherlands during the late Middle Ages, around the 14th or 15th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in Dutch records from the 16th and 17th centuries, often associated with areas such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other cities in the Netherlands. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Snidecker," "Snijdecker," or "Snediker," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Dutch Reformed Church records from the town of Beemster, which mention a man named Pieter Snedeker in the late 16th century. Another early record is from the city of Haarlem, where a man named Jan Snedeker was listed as a woodcarver in the guild records of 1612.
As the Dutch established colonies in the Americas, particularly in what is now New York and New Jersey, some individuals with the surname Snedeker emigrated from the Netherlands to the New World. One notable example is Hendrick Snedeker, who was born in Amsterdam in 1632 and settled in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) in the mid-17th century.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Snedeker family continued to grow and spread across various parts of the United States. Notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Johannes Snedeker (1741-1826), a Dutch-American farmer and soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
2. Abraham Snedeker (1785-1846), an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.
3. Courtlandt Snedeker (1833-1903), an American entrepreneur and inventor who patented several improvements to agricultural machinery.
4. James M. Snedeker (1869-1944), an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the New York State Senate.
5. Donald Snedeker (1904-1986), an American architect and urban planner known for his work in the New York metropolitan area.
While the name Snedeker is not as common today as it once was, it continues to hold a rich history rooted in the Dutch tradition of woodworking and the pioneering spirit of those who left the Netherlands to establish new lives in the Americas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Snedeker
Among Census respondents with the surname Snedeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Snedeker bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Snedeker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 1,748
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 70
- Two or more races3.2% · 61
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Snedeker
Snedeker appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,507
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,056
+9 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 903 places
2020
#14,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,897
-159 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.63
Rank movement Down 452 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,604 | 2,047 | 0.76 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,507 | 2,056 | 0.70 | +9 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 903 places |
| 2020 | #14,959 | 1,897 | 0.63 | -159 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 452 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Snedeker surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,507 | #14,959 | -3.1% |
| Count | 2,056 | 1,897 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.70 | 0.63 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Snedeker bearers went from 2,056 to 1,897 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 452 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,507 to #14,959.
FAQ
Snedeker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Snedeker?
Name Census estimates that about 2,175 living Americans carry the surname Snedeker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 157,588 residents.
How common is Snedeker?
Snedeker ranks #14,959 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,897 people with the surname Snedeker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Snedeker.
Has Snedeker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Snedeker went from 2,056 recorded bearers to 1,897. That is a decrease of 159 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,507 to #14,959.
What does the Census say about the background of Snedeker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Snedeker, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Snedeker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (1,748 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Snedeker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Hispanic (3.7%), Two or More Races (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Snedeker (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Snedeker mean?
A Dutch occupational surname referring to a tailor or one who cuts cloth. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Snedeker (0.63 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Snedeker?
If you just want to know how common the surname Snedeker is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.