Find out how popular the last name Snowball is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Snowball.

Snowball, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Snowball surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Snowball in America

Snowball is the 38214th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Snowball surname appeared 580 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Snowball.

We can also compare 2010 data for Snowball to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Snowball

The surname SNOWBALL is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is a descriptive surname derived from the Old English words "snaw" meaning snow and "ball" meaning a rounded object or sphere. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a prominent snowball-shaped hill or perhaps someone with a round, pale complexion.

The earliest recorded instances of the SNOWBALL surname can be traced back to the 13th century in various parts of southern England, including Wiltshire, Somerset, and Devon. Variations in spelling such as Snawball and Snouball were common during this time due to inconsistencies in record-keeping and dialect differences.

One of the earliest known bearers of the SNOWBALL name was John Snouball, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1275. Another notable early reference is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, which records a Richard Snawball residing in the village of Evesham.

The SNOWBALL surname is also linked to several place names in England, such as Snowball Hill in Somerset and Snowball Farm in Wiltshire. These locations may have influenced the adoption of the surname or vice versa, with families taking on the name based on their proximity to these areas.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the SNOWBALL surname, including:

1. Sir John Snowball (1545-1617), an English politician and landowner who served as the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1593.
2. Thomas Snowball (1670-1742), a prominent Quaker preacher and author from Yorkshire, known for his religious writings and opposition to the Church of England.
3. William Snowball (1793-1876), a British architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Fitzrovia Chapel.
4. Elizabeth Snowball (1819-1892), a British author and educator who wrote several children's books and founded a girls' school in London.
5. James Snowball (1865-1937), a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who established the Snowball Laundry Company in Toronto and donated generously to various charitable causes.

While the SNOWBALL surname may have originated from humble beginnings, it has left a lasting mark on history through the contributions of its bearers in various fields, from politics and religion to architecture and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Snowball

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Snowball.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Snowball was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Snowball has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Snowball was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Snowball, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!