From German 'Schneider' meaning 'tailor,' an occupational surname used as a given name.
Snyder is an occupational surname pressed into service as a given name, and like many such names it carries an honest working-class pride. It derives from the Dutch and German Schneider, meaning tailor — from the verb schneiden, to cut. The snyder or snider was a craftsman who cut and stitched cloth, a trade essential enough in medieval Europe that it became one of the most common surnames in German-speaking lands.
Families named Snyder were often Pennsylvania Dutch settlers who carried their craft name across the Atlantic in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the name became deeply embedded in American Mennonite and Amish communities. As a surname, it has produced figures of wide-ranging influence. Snyder County in Pennsylvania is named in honor of Simon Snyder, who became the state's third governor in 1808 — the first governor of German descent in any American state, celebrated as a champion of common people against the established elite.
In contemporary culture, filmmaker Zack Snyder has made the name familiar to new generations through his visually ambitious superhero films. As a first name, Snyder is unusual enough to turn heads, appealing to parents who want to honor a family surname or simply choose something that sounds grounded and unhypeable. It has the directness of old American craft — no Latin softness, no Greek mythological ambition, just a sturdy name that says someone in this family knew how to make something with their hands.