Quintessa
Quintessa is a feminine name derived from the Latin word "quintus," meaning fifth.
Name Census estimates that about 410 living Americans carry the first name Quintessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Quintessa today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Quintessa births was 1987 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Quintessa. 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.
People living today
410
~ 1 in 835,986 Americans
Peak year
1987
27 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2020 SSA rank
#10,095
Tracked since 1970
Census
Quintessa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 348 people with the first name Quintessa, which placed it at #26,649 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#26,649
National first-name rank
People counted
348
348 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quintessa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quintessa is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Quintessa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Quintessa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.1% · 178
- White28.2% · 98
- Two or more races7.2% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino6.3% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.3% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.9% · 10
Popularity
Quintessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Quintessa from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 143 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Quintessa 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 Quintessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Quintessas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Quintessa
The name Quintessa originates from the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "quintus," meaning "fifth," suggesting a possible association with the fifth-born child or the fifth element in a sequence.
During the Roman era, the name Quintessa was occasionally used as a feminine variation of the masculine name Quintus, which was a common praenomen (personal name) among Roman citizens. However, the name's usage was relatively rare and limited to certain aristocratic families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quintessa can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Quintessa Claudia in his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Founding of the City). Livy's work, which covers the history of Rome from its founding to around 9 BCE, provides a glimpse into the name's existence during the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Quintessa experienced a resurgence, particularly in Italy and other regions influenced by Latin culture. During this period, it was occasionally used by noble families as a way to honor their Roman heritage and lineage.
One notable figure bearing the name Quintessa was Quintessa Visconti, a 14th-century noblewoman from the powerful Visconti family of Milan. She played a significant role in the political intrigues and power struggles of her time, and her name has been recorded in various historical documents and chronicles.
Another renowned Quintessa was Quintessa Gonzaga, a 16th-century Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts. She was known for her artistic patronage and her support of the Renaissance humanist movement, and her name has been immortalized in various works of art and literature from that era.
In the 17th century, Quintessa Vittoria Colonna, an Italian noblewoman and poet, gained recognition for her literary works and her involvement in the cultural and intellectual circles of her time. Her name has been preserved in various literary anthologies and historical records.
While the name Quintessa has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has occasionally resurfaced in various contexts, often associated with individuals of notable status or artistic pursuits. Its Latin origins and connection to ancient Roman culture have contributed to its enduring presence and occasional usage over the centuries.
People
Quintessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Quintessa 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
Quintessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Quintessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 410 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Quintessa 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 835,986 US residents.
Is Quintessa a common name?
We classify Quintessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 426 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Quintessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Quintessa was 1987, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Quintessa is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Quintessa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 348 people with the name Quintessa, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,649 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Quintessa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Quintessa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Quintessa appears almost entirely female. Of the 346 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Quintessa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Quintessa is Black at 51.1%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Quintessa most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Quintessa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (178 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Quintessa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Quintessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Quintessa in the SSA data are female. 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 Quintessa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Quintessa 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 Quintessa 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.
How many people have Quintessa as a first name?
See how many Americans are named Quintessa on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.