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Quinn Family History

Quinn Surname Meaning

Irish:: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinn earlier spelled Ó Cuinn ‘descendant of Conn’ a personal name meaning ‘wisdom’ or ‘chief’ (see O'Quinn). This is the name of several families in Ulster and counties Clare, Longford, and Mayo.

Shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Coinne ‘descendant of Coinne’ a personal name which may be a variant of Coinneach (see also McKenzie). This is an Ulster surname.

A sept deriving from Eoghan, son of Niall Naoighiallach, from whom Tyrone is named. In most cases, the Anglicized forms cannot be distinguished from sense 1 above.

Although final -e may have been intended as syllabic.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Quinn family from?

You can see how Quinn families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Quinn family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Quinn families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 77 Quinn families living in New York. This was about 21% of all the recorded Quinn's in USA. New York had the highest population of Quinn families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Quinn surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Quinn ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Quinn. 13% of Quinn men worked as a Laborer and 7% of Quinn women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Quinn were Clerk and Housekeeper.

View Census Data for Quinn | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    13%
  • Farmer
    7%
  • Salesman
    6%
  • Clerk
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    7%
  • Stenographer
    7%
  • Clerk
    6%
  • Housekeeper
    5%

What Quinn family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 562,000 census records available for the last name Quinn. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Quinn census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Quinn

Passenger Lists

There are 122,000 immigration records available for the last name Quinn. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 107,000 military records available for the last name Quinn. For the veterans among your Quinn ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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