Named after a stream, the Snaresbrook, once called Sayesbrook.
The brook, a tributary of the River Roding, gave its name to this corner of Wanstead and no longer flows above ground. The present spelling is first recorded in 1599; its first part may be a corruption of the older name, or may recall snares for trapping animals or birds in Epping Forest. From 1857 to 1947 the station's name also included Wanstead.