NameCensus.

UK surname

Quinn

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic word "conn," meaning chief, leader, or intelligence.

In the 1881 census there were 5,716 people recorded with the Quinn surname, ranking it #772 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 24,992, ranked #229, up from #772 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Gateshead and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Neath Port Talbot, Keppochhill and Liverpool.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Quinn is 25,092 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 337.2%.

1881 census count

5,716

Ranked #772

Modern count

24,992

2016, ranked #229

Peak year

2014

25,092 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Quinn had 5,716 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #772 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 24,992 in 2016, ranked #229.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 8,769 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Quinn surname distribution map

The map shows where the Quinn surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Quinn surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Quinn over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 1,284 #2,231
1861 historical 2,113 #1,375
1881 historical 5,716 #772
1891 historical 6,696 #682
1901 historical 8,769 #598
1911 historical 7,385 #703
1997 modern 22,037 #256
1998 modern 22,860 #258
1999 modern 23,241 #256
2000 modern 23,004 #256
2001 modern 22,526 #256
2002 modern 23,013 #256
2003 modern 22,547 #255
2004 modern 22,728 #253
2005 modern 22,747 #247
2006 modern 22,820 #247
2007 modern 23,023 #247
2008 modern 23,324 #246
2009 modern 24,167 #237
2010 modern 24,818 #237
2011 modern 24,599 #235
2012 modern 24,177 #235
2013 modern 24,655 #236
2014 modern 25,092 #232
2015 modern 24,886 #231
2016 modern 24,992 #229

Geography

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Where Quinns are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Neath Port Talbot, Keppochhill, Liverpool, Barlanark and Central Easterhouse. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 3
2 Gateshead Durham
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Neath Port Talbot 011 Neath Port Talbot
2 Keppochhill Glasgow City
3 Liverpool 060 Liverpool
4 Barlanark Glasgow City
5 Central Easterhouse Glasgow City

Forenames

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First names often paired with Quinn

These lists show first names that appear often with the Quinn surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Quinn

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Quinn, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Quinn surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Quinn household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Quinn is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Quinn is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Quinn falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Quinn is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Quinn, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Quinn

The surname Quinn has its origins in Ireland and is an Anglicized version of the Old Gaelic name O'Cuinn, meaning "descendant of Conn". Conn was a legendary ancient king of Ireland who ruled in the 2nd century AD. The name is derived from the Old Irish word "cond" meaning "chief" or "leader".

The Quinn surname first appeared in historical records in the 12th century, with early spellings including O'Cuin, O'Cuinn, and O'Quin. It was particularly prevalent in the counties of Tyrone, Derry, and Fermanagh in Ulster, where the O'Quinns were a powerful clan.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Annals of Ulster, which mention a man named Giolla Crist O'Cuinn in 1181. The name also appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a 17th-century chronicle of medieval Irish history.

The surname Quinn is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "Quine" in this record.

Notable historical figures with the surname Quinn include:

1. Ede Quinn (c. 1532 - 1624), an Irish military leader who fought against English forces during the Nine Years' War. 2. Walter Quinn (1701 - 1786), an Irish-born Catholic priest who emigrated to the American colonies and was a prominent educator in Philadelphia. 3. James Quinn (1819 - 1881), an Irish-American Union Army officer who served in the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Antietam. 4. John Quinn (1870 - 1924), an American lawyer and art collector who amassed one of the largest collections of modern art in the United States. 5. Anthony Quinn (1915 - 2001), a Mexican-American actor of Irish descent who won two Academy Awards and starred in films like "Viva Zapata!" and "Zorba the Greek".

The name Quinn has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Quinnsborough, Quinntown, and Quinnville, which were likely derived from prominent local families with the surname.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Quinn families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Quinn surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 2,327 Quinns recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.51x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,327 3.51x
Yorkshire 559 1.01x
Lanarkshire 475 2.63x
Durham 311 1.87x
Middlesex 310 0.56x
Cheshire 204 1.65x
Cumberland 174 3.62x
Staffordshire 134 0.71x
Northumberland 122 1.47x
Surrey 89 0.33x
Renfrewshire 77 1.78x
Angus 72 1.39x
Kent 70 0.37x
Essex 68 0.62x
Warwickshire 60 0.43x
Hampshire 56 0.49x
Derbyshire 54 0.62x
Midlothian 50 0.67x
Ayrshire 39 0.93x
Leicestershire 34 0.55x
Glamorgan 32 0.33x
Monmouthshire 32 0.79x
Gloucestershire 26 0.24x
Dumfriesshire 25 2.03x
Worcestershire 23 0.32x
Devon 20 0.17x
Nottinghamshire 20 0.27x
Lincolnshire 18 0.20x
West Lothian 16 1.90x
Isle of Man 15 1.45x
Kirkcudbrightshire 13 1.61x
Royal Navy 13 1.95x
Inverness-shire 11 0.66x
Selkirkshire 11 2.18x
Fife 9 0.27x
Perthshire 9 0.36x
Somerset 9 0.10x
Stirlingshire 9 0.44x
Cornwall 8 0.13x
East Lothian 8 1.08x
Flintshire 8 0.53x
Shropshire 8 0.17x
Cambridgeshire 7 0.20x
Dunbartonshire 7 0.47x
Pembrokeshire 7 0.39x
Anglesey 6 0.61x
Buckinghamshire 6 0.18x
Northamptonshire 6 0.11x
Sussex 6 0.06x
Channel Islands 5 0.30x
Westmorland 5 0.41x
Banffshire 4 0.35x
Herefordshire 4 0.17x
Norfolk 4 0.05x
Berwickshire 3 0.44x
Hertfordshire 3 0.08x
Morayshire 3 0.35x
Aberdeenshire 2 0.04x
Argyllshire 2 0.13x
Brecknockshire 2 0.18x
Denbighshire 2 0.09x
Peeblesshire 2 0.76x
Roxburghshire 2 0.20x
Berkshire 1 0.02x
Dorset 1 0.03x
Montgomeryshire 1 0.08x
Oxfordshire 1 0.03x
Suffolk 1 0.01x
Wigtownshire 1 0.13x
Wiltshire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 493 Quinns recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.25x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 493 12.25x
Manchester 256 8.59x
Everton 126 5.97x
Widnes 102 21.34x
Glasgow 100 3.12x
Govan 99 2.22x
Salford 98 5.03x
Barony 97 2.12x
Toxteth Park 84 3.74x
West Derby 83 4.28x
Hulme 70 5.06x
Leeds 70 2.24x
Islington London 53 0.98x
Kirkdale 53 4.75x
Wigan 49 5.29x
Dundee 47 2.43x
Ashton Under Lyne 46 3.18x
Birkenhead 46 4.68x
Barrow In Furness 44 4.88x
Old Monkland 43 6.00x
Burnley 41 7.35x
Bradford 39 2.91x
Warrington 39 4.96x
Birmingham 38 0.81x
Pendleton In Salford 38 4.81x
St Pancras London 35 0.78x
West Ham 34 1.40x
Chorlton On Medlock 31 2.94x
Little Bolton 31 3.64x
Oldham 31 1.45x
Stoke Upon Trent 31 1.55x
Kensington London 30 0.97x
Southowram 30 17.76x
Blackburn 29 1.64x
Workington 29 10.53x
Bootle Cum Linacre 28 5.32x
Gateshead 28 2.25x
West Greenock 28 3.60x
Birtley 27 39.82x
Cleator 27 13.49x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 27 3.75x
Huddersfield 27 3.35x
Wakefield 27 6.36x
Whitehaven 27 10.54x
Woolwich 27 3.84x
Linthorpe 26 7.87x
Parr 26 10.97x
Stockport 26 4.10x
Great Bolton 25 2.85x
Leicester St Margaret 24 1.59x
Middlesbrough 24 3.33x
Preston 24 1.35x
Sheffield 24 1.36x
Lambeth 22 0.45x
New Monkland 22 4.12x
Hamilton 21 4.17x
Kilmarnock 21 4.22x
Ardwick 20 3.35x
Cowpen 20 10.45x
Dewsbury 20 3.52x
Ilkeston 19 7.75x
Liff Benvie 18 2.29x
Maryhill 18 5.09x
St Marylebone London 18 0.60x
Bradford 17 5.48x
Cheetham 17 3.44x
Dudley 17 1.92x
Lichfield St Chad 17 40.09x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 17 3.43x
North Meols 17 2.62x
Radcliffe 17 5.32x
Walsall Foreign 17 1.75x
Heworth 16 4.89x
Bethnal Green London 15 0.62x
Rutherglen 15 5.66x
Sunderland 15 5.11x
Sutton 15 6.75x
Bedwellty 14 1.96x
Merthyr Tydfil 14 1.50x
Wolverhampton 14 0.97x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Quinn surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 570
Margaret 180
Catherine 143
Ellen 139
Elizabeth 132
Sarah 116
Bridget 114
Ann 108
Jane 64
Annie 59
Eliza 42
Alice 41
Kate 32
Hannah 29
Anne 22
Maria 21
Emma 19
Susan 19
Emily 18
Rose 18
Julia 17
Isabella 16
Agnes 13
Harriet 12
Louisa 12
Margret 12
Margt. 12
Martha 12
Ada 11
Catharine 11
Charlotte 11
Elizth. 11
Fanny 9
Caroline 7
Clara 7
Matilda 7
Norah 7
Winifred 7
Amelia 6
Eleanor 6
Florence 6
Teresa 6
Eliz. 5
Esther 5
Frances 5
Lizzie 5
Lucy 5
Rebecca 5
Amy 4
Phoebe 4

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Quinn surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 482
James 259
Thomas 252
Patrick 182
William 169
Michael 141
Edward 77
Joseph 77
Peter 66
George 48
Henry 44
Charles 43
Francis 41
Martin 31
Robert 31
Daniel 28
Hugh 23
Arthur 21
Bernard 20
Richard 17
Frederick 14
Thos. 14
Walter 14
Andrew 13
Frank 13
Owen 12
Wm. 12
David 10
Samuel 10
Alfred 9
Christopher 9
Felix 8
Jas. 8
Nicholas 8
Stephen 7
Timothy 7
Denis 6
Micheal 6
Alexander 5
Edwin 5
Ernest 5
Herbert 5
Laurence 5
Luke 5
Mark 5
Philip 5
Anthony 4
Harry 4
Matthew 4
Terence 4

FAQ

Quinn surname: questions and answers

How common was the Quinn surname in 1881?

In 1881, 5,716 people were recorded with the Quinn surname. That placed it at #772 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Quinn surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 24,992 in 2016. That gives Quinn a modern rank of #229.

What does the Quinn surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic word "conn," meaning chief, leader, or intelligence.

What does the Quinn map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Quinn bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.