Surname origins

The following information is from The Internet Surname Database. (© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2011.)

Brigham
This is an English surname which seem to be particularly well recorded in the county of Yorkshire, and specifically in the eastern part around Hull, Beverley and York. The spellings are usually Brigham and much more rarely Brigam and Briggam. It is has two possible places of origin, being Brigham in Cumberland near Cockermouth, but most likely from Brigham near the small town of Driffield in East Yorkshire. The latter place seems to have been "diminished" in the 17th century, through changes in agricultural practices, and specifically drainage of the wetlands. Between the 14th and 19th centuries huge areas of East Anglia, Lincolnshire and as far north as Northallerton in North Yorkshire were affected, when lands which were formerly meadow cattle pasture, after draining became arable or were used for sheep, who required dry lands. It is estimated that as a result over one thousand villages disappeared completely or became diminished, the villagers forced to leave for other places. When they did, they took or were given, as their surname, the name of their former village. Brigham means the settlement by the bridge, that in Yorkshire being recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, and in Cumbria two centuries later. An early example of the surname recordings is that of Ellen Brigham. She conveniently married a Robert Briggs at Pocklington, East Yorkshire, on May 1st 1505, in the reign of King Henry V11th (1485 - 1509).

Snowden
Recorded in several forms including Snowden, Snowdon, Snodin, Snoding, Snoden and Snowding, this is a surname of English origins. It is locational from any of the places called Snowden in West Yorkshire and Hertfordshire, or Snowdon in Devonshire, but not Snowden mountain in Wales. All derive from the Old English pre 7th century word 'snaw', meaning snow, and 'dun', meaning hill, the general meaning of the place name is 'The hill where snow lies long'. The places called Snow Hill in Berkshire, and Snow End in Hertfordshire were also formerly called 'Snowden', and they may have given rise to surnames. Early examples of the recordings include Matthew de Snoudon of Somerset in 1278, Elizabeth Snoden of Kent in 1551, Sara Snoddin also of Kent in 1655, Ellen Snodin in the registers of the city of London in 1677, Elizabeth Snowdin and Ann Snowding also of London in 1695. The marriage of Thomas Snowden and Helen Abbey was recorded at the church of St. Martin and St. Gregory, in the city of York, on November 25th 1593. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Snewedon. This was was dated 1277, in the Fines Court Rolls of Essex, during the reign of King Edward 1st known as 'The Hammer of the Scots', 1272 - 1307. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.