essay on the snopek surname
While
searching details about our ancestors, I was thinking about the
question where our surname comes from and how it came into
being.
I
looked into
linguistic sources, grammar handbooks and dictionaries. The term “snopek” (Eng. small sheaf) does not
occur in the last edition of the Short
Dictionary of the Slovak Language (hereinafter referred to as
Short
Dictionary) – 4th,
amended
edition, issued in
In general it is a problem to find the term “snopek” in Slovak
dictionaries. I only found the term “snop” (Eng. sheaf) in the Historical Dictionary of the Slovak
Language (issued in Bratislava, Veda
– publishing house in 2000, head editor PhDr. Milan Majtán, DrSc.)
where
the term “snopek” is introduced as a diminutive occurring in historical
documents from the second half of the 18th
century.
The term “snopek” in its phonetic form induces Czech or Polish term.
That was the reason why I looked into dictionaries of these languages.
In some
Czech dictionaries it is not possible to find this term, in some of
them the
diminutive “snopek” occurres. But it is for sure that I could find both
“snop”
and also diminutive “snopek”. Following the previous, I could say that
our
surname has Czech or more likely Polish origin. In the context of the
period
use in Slovakia (see the reference to the Historical Dictionary above)
this
statement does not have to be necessarily true. From my point of view,
I would
prefer the foreign origin of our surname, particularly in connection
with its insignificant
occurrence in the beginning of the 18th century
within the territory
of present Slovakia and in connection with references about denser
populating
of Držkovce and its surroundings in the first half of the 18th
century.
From the semantic point of view of the word stem of our
surname, it
could be possible to assume that the surname Snopek could originate as
a denomination of somebody who looked like a
small sheaf – “snopček”
(it is
hard to imagine this idea for me). I would prefer the idea that the
surname
Snopek denominates somebody who worked
with sheaves in agriculture and probably was of a smaller
figure. This
theory could be supported by the fact that no Snopek occurred in lists
of
aristocracy – either original, or gentry such as squires, who obtained
their
aristocracy affiliation after they had acquired greater wealth. As I
have studied
the past of our ancestors, they were usually poor people dependent on
agriculture. Only occasionally they worked as craftsmen (see Štefan
Snopek,
born in 1869, after injury).
Finally, I have to say that the use of the stem “snop” in the surname
is
not being anything special also in other countries. For example, the
Polish
king Sigmund the 3rd was the most famous
representative of the extinct
dynasty of Swedish and Polish kings Vasa
(from Swedish “vas” – sheaf). I was not successful to find out why this
dynasty
had a sheaf of corn on its crest. I also found the surname Snopek in
the U.S.A.
And what is a reality?
(Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4)
This statement supports one of my previous speculations. I decided to
ask linguists about the origin of our surname. This is an extract from
the answer
from the Ľudovít Štúr Institute of Linguistics:
"The surname
Snopek has so-called nickname character.
It was originated from the general substantive “snop” (Eng. sheaf),
eventually
from diminutive dialect form “snopek” (Eng. little sheaf). The
motivation was –
probably – some physical or characteristic attributes of a person with
this
nickname, from which the surname Snopek was later formed.”
feminine form of the surname snopek
The grammar of
the Slovak language says that the vocal “e” or “o” can be
omitted in feminine forms of surnames ending with “-ec, ek, ok”. It
depends on
the fact if it is or it is not omitted in declension of the masculine
form of
surname. In some feminine forms of surnames the vocals “e” and “o” are
not
omitted, if it is a family tradition, e.g. Hudec – Hudcová/Hudecová,
Svitek –
Svitková/Sviteková.
We also have to take into consideration the fact that our
surname is in
relation with a general substantive “sheaf”. This is an answer from the
Ľudovít
Štúr Institute of Linguistics:
“In the case of your surname it is difficult to determine
the extent of relation with general substantive “sheaf” being used only
in some
dialects, thereby only in some areas of Slovakia. From the linguistic
point of
view both methods of declension of the surname Snopek are correct –
Snopka and
also Snopeka. It depends on the family custom used in your family. With
regards
to the fact that also the surname Snopko occurs in Slovakia, the
genitive form
of which is Snopka, we suppose that the declension of the surname
Snopek could
prefer the form Snopeka to distinguish better these surnames.
Declension of the
surname Snopek without omitting the vocal “e” gives us a possibility to
reconstruct correctly the nominative form of the surname (i. e. when a
case
form Snopeka or Snopekovi occurs in a speech it is clear that the
nominative
form is Snopek and that Mrs. Snopeková is definitely Mr. Snopek’s wife;
but
Mrs. Snopková can be either wife of Mr. Snopek or Mr. Snopko)."
In my opinion, if a feminine form in our family is without a vocal “e”,
I respect it and I will use the surname in this form. In other cases as
well as
in general to name the whole family – I will write about the Snopek family, because it seems to be
more correct to me.
forms of the surname
When I was studying Register Offices I found not only the rare Slovak
form “Snopek” but also the Hungarian form “Sznopek”. The masculine
forms of
substantive were recorded also for women. In the 18th
century some surnames
of women were recorded in the feminine form. It means that these forms
were
used in the native language (e. g. Eva Sedlecka, died in 1766). I found
that also
the short or folk like forms were used (e. g. Anna Masarička). I
discovered
also one exception with a particular form of the surname of Joanna,
Jozef
Mihalech's wife, who was recorded as Joanna Snopka when her son was
being
christened.
I found several records of the surname
“Snopček” or its Hungarian form
“Sznopcsek” from the end of the 18th century –
Adam (born 1741) and
Andreas in record on his daughter Mária (born in Čuklasovce)
christening. These
facts prove that the surname is of the foreign origin, probably Czech,
and it
is a diminutive of the word “snop”. This surname was not very familiar
to
recording priests and they probably tried to record the surname as
a diminutive
of the Slovak form.
