Snellen Genealogy and Snellen Family History Information

The surname Snellen can be either Dutch or English:

1) For families of Dutch origin: Probably derived from Dutch snell "quick", "lively"; (bognate of German adjective schnell "fast")

2) For families of English origin: Snellen is a corruption of Snelling, from Old English snel, snell , "smart", "active", "bold", which in turn is derived from Old Norse snjallr. See Snelling.

Obviously, these surnames are etymologically related and can both be categorized as surnames that are derived from nicknames.