Survey of English Place-Names

Historical Forms

• (le) Snabbe 1506 1508 ChRR 1515 MinAcct

• Snab 1668–71 Sheaf

• The Snab 1694 Chol

• the Snabb 1819 Orm2

• Higher Snabb 1842 OS

Etymology

Higher Snab (109–545485), (le ) Snabbe 1506Chol , Plea, 1508 ChRR, 1515MinAcct , Snab 1668–71 Sheaf, The Snab 1694Chol , the Snabb 1819 Orm2, Higher Snabb 1842 OS, cf. Lower Snab 3110, perhaps snæp 'a boggy piece of land', since the place is near Bickley Moss supra , but Professor Löfvenberg observes that the el. snabbe appears to suit the forms, and although snabbe in the sense 'a steep place, a projecting part of a hill, a rugged point' will not fit the topography of this place, the word may, in this instance, refer to a peninsula or projecting tongue of dry ground pointing into a bog. This would suit both the spellings and the locality.