Show ContentsSneed History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Sneed family

The surname Sneed was first found in Staffordshire where one of the first on record was Henry de Sneyd who married Margaret, the daughter and heiress of Nicholas de Tunstall, of the Tunstalls of Lancashire and Yorkshire, in 1310. "The noble race of Sneyds, of great worship and account, appear to be denominated from Snead, a hamlet in the parish of Tunstall, in this county, where they were seated as early as the reign of Henry III.

By marriage with the heiress of Tunstall they had other lands in that parish, and for two descents were called Sneyd alias Tunstall." [1] "The arms of this family are a 'curiosity of heraldry,' being partly of the allusive kind, and consisting of a scythe and a fleur-de-lis. The pun is in the handle of the scythe, provincially called a snead. The fleur-de-lis said to have been added by Richard de Tunstall; alias Sneyd, after the battle of Poictiers; but I should rather consider it to have been part of the original device." [2]

The parish of Keele in the union of Newcastle-under-Lyme, the hundred of Pirehill in Staffordshire was a stronghold of the family since the mid 15th century through the 1940s. "The church, a neat embattled stone edifice with a tower, on an elevated site at the east end of the village, was built in 1790, principally at the expense of Colonel Sneyd; it contains about 350 sittings. " [3]

Early History of the Sneed family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Sneed research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1581, 1614, 1660, 1663 and 1695 are included under the topic Early Sneed History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sneed Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sneyd, Sneed, Snead, Sneade, Sneeds and others.

Early Notables of the Sneed family

Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Sneed Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Sneed Ranking

In the United States, the name Sneed is the 1,514th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. [4]

Ireland Migration of the Sneed family to Ireland

Some of the Sneed family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Sneed migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Sneed Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Peter Sneed, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 [5]
  • William Sneed, who landed in Virginia in 1664 [5]
  • Richard Sneed, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1682 [5]
Sneed Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Robert Sneed, who settled in Maryland in 1722
Sneed Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Sneed, who arrived in New York in 1822 [5]
  • Joseph Sneed, who arrived in New York in 1822 [5]
  • Stephen Sneed, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [5]
  • Miss. Kate Sneed, aged 16, who landed in America, in 1896
Sneed Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Thomas Sneed, who settled in America, in 1907
  • Hughes Sneed, aged 26, who settled in America, in 1909
  • Irene May Sneed, aged 3, who immigrated to the United States from Knowle, England, in 1910
  • Howard William Sneed, aged 29, who immigrated to the United States from Knowle, England, in 1910
  • Mrs. Ellen Sneed, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Sneed migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Sneed Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Sneed (post 1700) +

  • Troy Lenard Sneed Jr. (1967-2020), American gospel musician from Perry, Florida; he died of COVID-19
  • William J. Sneed, American politician, Delegate to Illinois State Constitutional Convention 50th District, 1920-22 [7]
  • William M. Sneed, American politician, Member of North Carolina State Senate from Granville County, 1822-23, 1825-26, 1829-31 [7]
  • William Henry Sneed (1812-1869), American politician, Member of Tennessee State Legislature; U.S. Representative from Tennessee 2nd District, 1855-57 [7]
  • Mrs. Thomas P. Sneed, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 1944 [7]
  • Thomas E. Sneed, American politician, Mayor of Austin, Texas, 1857 [7]
  • Thomas D. Sneed, American politician, Member of North Carolina State Senate 23rd District, 1864-67 [7]
  • Richard G. Sneed, American politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Granville County, 1872-74; Member of North Carolina State Senate 21st District, 1874-75 [7]
  • Richard Sneed, American politician, Member of North Carolina House of Commons from Granville County, 1819-21 [7]
  • Michael Sneed, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 2008 [7]
  • ... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


The Sneed Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nec opprimere nec opprimi
Motto Translation: Neither to oppress nor to be oppressed.


  1. Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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