Probably half the surnames in circulation are variant forms of an original spelling, and "Zanre" is one such example, and by any standards a rare form. It has at least two possible descriptive derivations, however, in both cases the origin is Germanic, or Baltic. The most likely origin is habitational deriving from the Olde Scandinavian "Sandr" and describing one who lived by the coast or on sandy soil. There are known to be derived spelling forms in every European country, with or without the intrusive "d" and with total flexibility between "Z" and "S". The second possibility is as a developed form of "Zahn", itself a Germanic form of "John", the world's most popular Christian name which has over five hundred known surname variant spellings, including Zann, Zuan, Suzn, etc. "Link" Zanre recordings include Valentin Zandre who married Barre Nicols on December 12th 1788, at Audin Le Roman, Moselle and possibly James Sanar, a witness at St. Leonard's Church, Shoreditch, London on April 6th 1783. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Petrus Josephus Zanr (christening) which was dated February 28th 1748, Bruchmuchbach Phalz Bayer, Germany, during the reign of Emperor Francis 1 of the Holy Roman Empire, 1745 - 1765. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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