This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Sevenoaks', a market town and parish in Kent Mr. Lower says,'The Kentish town is usually pronounced Se'noaks.' 'The further contraction, coupled with the phonetic spelling of former days, easily passed into Snooks. Messrs. Sharp and Harrison, solicitors of Southampton, had in their possession a series of deeds in which all the modes of spelling occur, from Sevenoakes down to S'nokes, in connection with a family now known as Snooks' (Notes and Queries, quoted by Lower). 'A Sussex family in the early part of the last century bore the name of Snooke. Sevenoke, the early orthography of the town, has also been modified into Sinnock and Cennick' (Lower).

Stephen Sevenac, Lincolnshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Simon Senenok, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Robert Snouk, Somerset, 1 Edward III: ibid.

1617. Richard Snook, Dorset: Register of the University of Oxford.

1642. Baptised — Margery, d. Daniel Snoaks: Kensington Ch.

1766. Married— Thomas Snook and Ann Autrick: St. George, Hanover Square.

(English) 1 the Anglo-Saxon pers. (nick-) name Snoc [conn. with Dutch snoek, a pike; the root-idea being ‘something markedly projecting’; hence the word was prob. applied to a long-nosed individual] 2 Dweller at a Point, Small Headland, or Pointed Rock [Dialectal English snook = Scot. snuk(e, ‘a small promontory’; Early English snok ('west snok’) occurring in a late version of a Somerset charter dated A.D. 975 (‘Cart. Sax.’ no. 1313): see 1] Robert Snouk.—Lay Subs. Roll (Soms.), A.D. 1327.

3 belonging to Sevenoak(s (Kent), 14th cent. Sevenoke, Sevenok, 13th cent. Sevenac' = the Seven Oaks [Old English seofon, seven + œc, pl. of ác, oak-tree] The transition (by syncope) from Sevenoak(s to Snook(s is well authenticated.

(English) One who came from Sevenoaks (seven oaks), in Kent; dweller on, or near, a projecting point or piece of land.

Weekley says '‘from Sevenoaks, the classical example”; but there are difficulties. It is amply proved that one Snook was connected with Sevenoaks 500 years ago. But the place is called Sennock with a strong accent on the first syllable, and therefore would not easily form Snock. If it did we should expect to find cases of De Snook; but we don’t. On the other hand, we do find the name of Le Snoke, and on the whole the popular derivation is hard to swallow

From the Old Norse, Snákr; nickname from the Dutch, Schnücke; from the Flemish, Snoek; in the Domesday Book, Snoch; a personal name.

The Snooks of Wiltshire are gathered around Devizes, but the name also occurs now in Somerset, Dorset, and Berks, and was represented by a family of Snooke in Sussex in the early part of last century.