O nome de sua mãe era Eileen Prince, e seu pai era um trouxa (Tobias Snape). Assim, ele deu a si mesmo o nome "O Enigma do Príncipe":
Nunca se especifica se alguém o conhecia por esse nome, mas considerando sua origem sonserina e o fato de que o Voldemort estava em ascensão, é improvável que ele estivesse contando a outros estudantes sobre seu status de meio-sangue.'I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying she'd given birth to a-'
'-murderer,' spat Harry.
'Well...yes,' said Hermione, 'So...I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being "half a Prince", you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.'
'Yeah, that fits,' said Harry. 'He'd play up the pure-blood side so he could get in with Lucius Malfoy and the rest of them.'
Half-Blood Prince Chapter 30: "The White Tomb"
Bem, talvez um outro aluno ...