2000
#31,817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 686
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.25
Very Rare Last name
Quant
A medieval English occupational surname derived from the Middle English word 'counte', meaning a banker or money lender.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 842 Americans carry the last name Quant. That puts it at #33,419 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 407,072 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quant surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Quant with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
842
1 in 407,072
Census rank
#33,419
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
734
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 734 bearers of the surname Quant in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 33419th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quant, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quant
The surname Quant is of French origin and can be traced back to the 12th century in the regions of Normandy and Brittany. It is derived from the Old French word "quant," which means "how much" or "how many," suggesting that the name might have been a nickname for someone who frequently asked questions or was particularly inquisitive.
One of the earliest known records of the name Quant appears in the Rolls of Normandy, a collection of documents from the 12th and 13th centuries. In these rolls, a person named Robert Quant is mentioned as holding land in the village of Avranches in Normandy.
The Quant name can also be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this record, a person named Radulfus Quant is listed as a landowner in the county of Suffolk.
During the Middle Ages, the name Quant spread across various parts of Europe, including England, where it was often anglicized to "Quante" or "Quaunce." One notable bearer of this surname was Sir John Quant, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Quant was Thomas Quant, a merchant and explorer who established trade routes between England and the Levant region (modern-day Turkey and the Middle East). He was born in Bristol, England, in 1525 and is believed to have died in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1578.
Another prominent individual with the Quant surname was Sir Henry Quant, an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Hythe in Kent during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in 1555 and died in 1623.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the Quant name was Jean-René Quant, a French philosopher and writer who was born in Dijon in 1717. He is best known for his work "Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations" (Essay on the Manners and Spirit of Nations), published in 1756.
Moving into the 19th century, one notable figure with the Quant surname was Sir William Quant, a British military officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. He was born in 1824 and received numerous honors for his service, including the Order of the Bath and the Victoria Cross.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quant
Among Census respondents with the surname Quant, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Quant bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Quant surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino45.0% · 330
- White39.9% · 293
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 51
- Black or African American6.3% · 46
- Two or more races1.9% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quant
Quant appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#36,246
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 618
-68 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.21
Rank movement Down 4,429 places
2020
#33,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 734
+116 bearers (+18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.25
Rank movement Up 2,827 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,817 | 686 | 0.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #36,246 | 618 | 0.21 | -68 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 4,429 places |
| 2020 | #33,419 | 734 | 0.25 | +116 bearers (+18.8%) | Up 2,827 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Quant surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #36,246 | #33,419 | 7.8% |
| Count | 618 | 734 | 18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.21 | 0.25 | 16.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quant bearers went from 618 to 734 (+18.8% change). The surname moved up 2,827 positions in the national ranking, going from #36,246 to #33,419.
FAQ
Quant surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quant?
Name Census estimates that about 842 living Americans carry the surname Quant. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 407,072 residents.
How common is Quant?
Quant ranks #33,419 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 734 people with the surname Quant. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (842), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Quant.
Has Quant become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quant went from 618 recorded bearers to 734. That is an increase of 116 (+18.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #36,246 to #33,419.
What does the Census say about the background of Quant?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quant, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 45.0%. The next largest groups are White (39.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Quant in the 2020 Census, accounting for 45.0% (330 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quant appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (45.0%), White (39.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Quant (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Quant mean?
A medieval English occupational surname derived from the Middle English word 'counte', meaning a banker or money lender. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Quant (0.25 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Quant?
See how many people have the surname Quant on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.