Quigley
A masculine name derived from Gaelic origins, possibly meaning "green field".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Quigley. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Quigley today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quigley births was 2023 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quigley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Quigley. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2023
6 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,909
Tracked since 2016
Popularity
Quigley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quigley from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quigley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Quigley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Quigley
The name Quigley is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Coigligh, which means "descendant of Coigleach." The prefix "Ó" signifies "descendant of," and "Coigleach" is derived from the Old Irish word "coiglech," meaning "separatist" or "recluse."
The name originated in Ireland, specifically in the province of Connacht, where the Ó Coigligh clan was based. It is believed to have emerged in the early medieval period, around the 8th or 9th century, when Irish surnames first began to develop.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Quigley can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a member of the Ó Coigligh clan named Tadhg Ó Coigligh, who lived in the 14th century.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Quigley was Sir Edward Quigley (1529-1590), an Irish soldier and landowner who served as Sheriff of County Laois in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was granted lands in County Laois for his service.
Another prominent figure was Quigley Baccagh (1610-1686), an Irish rebel and outlaw who fought against English rule during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s. He was known for his daring exploits and his ability to evade capture, earning him the nickname "Baccagh," which means "lame" in Irish.
In the 18th century, Thomas Quigley (1718-1789) was a noted Irish playwright and poet. He wrote several plays that were performed in Dublin and London, including "The Prussian Campaign" and "The Humours of Balamore."
Moving to the 19th century, Michael Quigley (1834-1909) was an Irish-American entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Quigley Company, a successful manufacturing company based in Chicago. He donated generously to various educational and charitable causes.
In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Quigley was Carroll Quigley (1910-1977), an American historian and theorist who wrote extensively on the role of secret societies in shaping world events. His book "Tragedy and Hope" became a influential work among conspiracy theorists.
People
Quigley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quigley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Q
Other first names starting with Q with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Quigley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quigley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quigley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Quigley a common name?
We classify Quigley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quigley most popular?
The single biggest year for Quigley was 2023, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quigley is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Quigley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quigley a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quigley in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Quigley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quigley in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Quigley can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Quigley?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.