Horsnail Surname

2,979,664th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 43 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Horsnail Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. I give this up; but I feel sure it is of local origin. Mr. Ferguson's idea, that it may 'refer to one who was as swiftfooted as a horse,' connecting it, I presume, with snel (v. Snell), quick, active, is not good enough.

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Horsnail Surname Distribution Map

By incidenceBy frequencyBy rank
Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ARank (high to low)Rank (low to high)
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England281:1,989,93178,001
France81:8,302,840321,660
United States71:51,779,848968,877
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England781:312,50520,777

Horsnail Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. I give this up; but I feel sure it is of local origin. Mr. Ferguson's idea, that it may 'refer to one who was as swiftfooted as a horse,' connecting it, I presume, with snel (v. Snell), quick, active, is not good enough. 1639. Francis Rolfe and Margaret Horsnell: Marriage Lic. (London).

1644. Audrey, wife of George Horsnell, Norfolk: History of Norfolk.

1650. Baptised — John, son of Thomas Horsenell: St. Dionis Backchurch.

William Horssnaile, 1700: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1804. Married — William Horsnaile, Berkshire, and Elizabeth Wilson: St. George, Hanover Square.

— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Dweller at 1 the Horse Slope or Corner [Middle English horsen (adj.) + hale, -ale, -ell, Old English heal(h, a slope, corner] Cp. Horsendon, a Buckinghamshire hill.

2 Horsa’s Hall [A.-Sax *Horsan-heall - Horsan, genit. sing. of Horsa +heall, a hall]

— Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Ferguson says, it may "refer to one who was as swift-footed as a horse." Anglo-Saxon snel, quick, active. A Kentish farrier, with great propriety, lately bore this name in the former orthography.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

HORSNAILE, HORSNELL: Ferguson says, it may "refer to one who was as swift-footed as a horse." Anglo-Saxon snel, quick, active. A Kentish farrier, with great propriety, lately bore this name in the former orthography.

— Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower
DNA test information

Horsnail Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Horsnail Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Horsnail occurs in England more than any other country or territory. It can be found in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Horsnail? popularity and diffusion

It is the 2,979,664th most widely held family name on earth, borne by around 1 in 169,477,812 people. This surname occurs mostly in Europe, where 84 percent of Horsnail reside; 65 percent reside in Northern Europe and 65 percent reside in British Isles.

Horsnail is most commonly occurring in England, where it is carried by 28 people, or 1 in 1,989,931. In England it is most numerous in: Norfolk, where 25 percent reside, Suffolk, where 21 percent reside and Somerset, where 18 percent reside. Not including England this last name is found in 2 countries. It is also found in France, where 19 percent reside and The United States, where 16 percent reside.

Horsnail Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Horsnail has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Horsnail surname declined 64 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

Incidence (high to low)Incidence (low to high)Alphabetic A-ZAlphabetic Z-ASimilarity (high to low)Similarity (low to high)Prevalent jurisdiction A-ZPrevalent jurisdiction Z-A
SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Horsnaill947/
Horsnall88155/
Horznal800/
Harsnale751/
Harsnall751/
Arsnal713/
Arsnault635/
Arznal571/
Arsennault563/
Arssennault531/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Horsnail
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis