Quinnell
A diminutive variant of the name Quin or Quincy, derived from Welsh roots meaning "fifth born".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Quinnell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Quinnell today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quinnell births was 2009 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quinnell. 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 Quinnell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2009
5 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2009 SSA rank
#13,996
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Quinnell: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Quinnell 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 Quinnell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Quinnell
The given name Quinnell is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era in Britain. It is derived from the Old English word "cwene," which means "woman" or "queen." The name likely emerged as a diminutive form of the word, possibly indicating a connection to royalty or nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quinnell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Quenild" and "Quenell," suggesting its use among the Anglo-Saxon population at that time.
Historical records from the Middle Ages reveal several notable individuals bearing the name Quinnell. One such figure was Quinnell de Vere, a noblewoman from the 12th century who was known for her charitable works and patronage of religious institutions. Another prominent bearer of the name was Quinnell of Huntingdon, a scholar and chronicler who lived in the late 12th century and authored a significant work on the history of England.
During the Renaissance period, the name Quinnell was associated with several artists and intellectuals. Quinnell Tiziano, an Italian painter born in 1490, was renowned for her portraits and religious works, which adorned many churches and palaces throughout Italy. Quinnell de Montaigne, a French philosopher and essayist born in 1533, was a celebrated figure of the French Renaissance, known for her influential writings on skepticism and human nature.
In the 17th century, Quinnell Bradstreet, an English poet and puritan settler in America, gained recognition for her collection of poems, which provided insights into the lives of early colonists. Her works were widely read and celebrated in both England and the American colonies.
As the name Quinnell continued to be used throughout history, it was borne by various individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions. Quinnell Nightingale, born in 1820, was a British nurse and social reformer who made significant contributions to the development of modern nursing practices. Quinnell Curie, a Polish-born physicist and chemist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1903 for her pioneering work on radioactivity.
People
Quinnell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quinnell 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
Quinnell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quinnell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quinnell 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 Quinnell a common name?
We classify Quinnell 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 Quinnell most popular?
The single biggest year for Quinnell was 2009, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quinnell is about 17 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 Quinnell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quinnell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quinnell 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 Quinnell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quinnell 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 Quinnell 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 have the name Quinnell?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.