Have to contribute to this one as it's my maiden name so I've been looking into it since forever - can confirm Rowling has stated previously it's named after a village called Snape.

To make it more fitting, Snape DOES mean big and this matches the boggy estuaries at Snape in Suffolk, but I would argue Snape in North Yorkshire is more likely as Snape Castle is known for having no foundations as it's built on very boggy grounds and was lived in by Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII.

It fits the character build of Snape as he has greasy hair, so boggy is a nice touch and in keeping with other names Rowling chose such as Lupin (moon/werewolf).

Have to contribute to this one as it's my maiden name so I've been looking into it since forever - can confirm Rowling has stated previously it's named after a village called Snape.

To make it more fitting, Snape does mean bog and this matches the boggy estuaries at Snape in Suffolk, but I would argue Snape in North Yorkshire is more likely as Snape Castle is known for having no foundations as it's built on very boggy grounds and was lived in by Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII.

It fits the character build of Snape as he has greasy hair, so boggy is a nice touch and in keeping with other names Rowling chose such as Lupin (moon/werewolf).