# Snowden (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/snowden/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname, variant of Snowdon.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,171 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,233 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 27,638 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.6% (10,788 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsnoʊ.dən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Snowdon.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Snowden in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 60% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 34% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 3.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Snowden in the United States.

## People named Snowden

- Edward Snowden, American whistleblower and former NSA contractor (born 1983)
- Leigh Snowden, American actress (1929-1982)
- Elmer Snowden, American musician (1900-1973)

## Similar surnames

Sanden, Snedden, Santana, Santamaria, Santangelo, Santini, Swinton, Sandman, Sneddon, Smetana, Santander, Sandin.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.