Quinnel
A name of uncertain origin, possibly a variant of the name Quinlan.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Quinnel. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Quinnel today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quinnel births was 1981 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quinnel. 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 Quinnel. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1981
5 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
1981 SSA rank
#7,021
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Quinnel: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Quinnel 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 Quinnel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Quinnel
The name Quinnel is an old Anglo-Saxon name that originated in England during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "cwene" meaning woman or wife, and "hyll" meaning hill or mound, suggesting it may have referred to a woman living on or near a hill. The earliest known spelling variations include Quynell, Qwynell, and Quinnell.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Quinnel is mentioned as holding lands in Wiltshire. In the 12th century, a monk named Quinnel was recorded as serving at the Benedictine monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset.
During the Middle Ages, the name Quinnel appeared in various historical records and manuscripts, though it was not a particularly common name. One notable figure was Sir Quinnel de Warenne, a knight who fought alongside King Edward I in the Scottish Wars of Independence in the late 13th century.
In the 15th century, a woman named Quinnel Woodville was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth Woodville, the consort of King Edward IV. She is mentioned in several court records and chronicles from the time.
Another historically significant figure was Quinnel Tyndale, a Protestant reformer and scholar who lived in the early 16th century. He is best known for his English translation of the Bible, which played a crucial role in the Protestant Reformation in England.
Over the centuries, the name Quinnel has remained relatively rare, but there have been a few notable individuals who have carried this name. In the 18th century, Quinnel Baxter was a renowned English poet and satirist, born in 1692 and known for his biting social commentary.
In the 19th century, Quinnel Hargreaves was a British military officer who served in the Crimean War and played a significant role in the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. He was born in 1820 and received numerous military honors for his service.
People
Quinnel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quinnel 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
Quinnel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quinnel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quinnel 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Quinnel a common name?
We classify Quinnel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quinnel most popular?
The single biggest year for Quinnel was 1981, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quinnel is about 43 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 Quinnel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quinnel a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quinnel 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 Quinnel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quinnel 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 Quinnel 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 are called Quinnel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.