Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Quinn

Quinn is an Irish surname, essentially the anglicized form of the older Gaelic Ó Cuinn, meaning descendant of Conn.  Conn, in turn, is a traditional Irish name meaning “chief, leader.”  Alternately, Quinn is also said to come from the Irish-Gaelic “ceann” meaning “sense, intelligence.”   A common Irish surname, Quinn is most often encountered in the North of Ireland, particularly County Tyrone.  Historically, the Ó Cuinn clan served as quartermasters to the kings of Ulster for over four centuries (responsible for the supply of arms and provisions in both war and peace).  As a forename, Quinn was first popularized in the United States and used freely on both genders. Today, Quinn remains unisex in America, although it is largely considered masculine in England and the Netherlands and feminine in Canada. Quinn could also be used as a short form of other Q names, like Quinten or Quincy.

All About the Baby Name – Quinn

Personality

OF THE UNISEX NAME QUINN

The Three energy is powerful and enthusiastic. These personalities are cheerful, full of self-expression, and often quite emotional. They have an artistic flair and "gift-of-gab" that makes them natural entertainers. Their joyfulness bubbles over, and their infectious exuberance draws a crowd. The Three personality is like a child - forever young and full of delight. They are charming, witty, and generally happy people. The Three personality lives in the "now" and has a spontaneous nature. Threes seem to live with a bright and seemingly unbreakable aura that attracts others to them. In turn, they are deeply loyal and loving to their friends and family. Luck also has a tendency to favor number Threes.

Popularity

OF THE UNISEX NAME QUINN

As a unisex name, Quinn appears on both the male and female naming charts in the United States. It started out as a boy’s name in 1960 and has risen to low-moderate levels of usage. For girls, Quinn debuted on the charts in 1995 for the most part (she made a brief appearance in 1979 but then retreated off the charts for 15 years before resurfacing again). 2010 marked the first year that the female Quinn outranked her male counterpart. While more popular for girls today, the male Quinn is not trailing too far behind. As a non-flowery surname, Quinn sounds neither distinctly female nor male so it’s one of the few names that works well for either gender. More than anything, Quinn sounds Irish. It is also one of the few Q names out there making it very unique and off-beat. Quinn is an all-around highly “intelligent” choice for a name. 

Quick Facts

ON QUINN

GENDER:

Unisex

ORIGIN:

Gaelic

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

1

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

KWIN

SIMPLE MEANING:

Chief

Characteristics

OF QUINN

Communicative

Creative

Optimistic

Popular

Social

Dramatic

Happy

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Quinn

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME QUINN

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Quinn

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME QUINN

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Quinn


Popular Songs

ON QUINN

No Holly for Miss Quinn
a song by Enya

Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
a song by Bob Dylan

Mighty Quinn
a song by Manfred Mann

Famous People

NAMED QUINN

Quinn Allman (musician)
Quinn Buckner (basketball player)
Quinn Cummings (actress)
Quinn Martin (TV producer)
Quinn Norton (journalist)
Quinn Johnson (football player)
Quinn Allman (musician)
Quinn Buckner (basketball player)
Quinn Cummings (actress)
Quinn Martin (TV producer)
Quinn Norton (journalist)
Quinn Johnson (football player)
Quinn Allman (musician)
Quinn Buckner (basketball player)
Quinn Cummings (actress)
Quinn Martin (TV producer)
Quinn Norton (journalist)
Quinn Johnson (football player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED QUINN

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Quinn

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME QUINN

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Quinn