Find out how popular the last name Quek is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Quek.

Quek, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Quek surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Quek in America

Quek is the 106570th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Quek surname appeared 167 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Quek.

We can also compare 2010 data for Quek to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Quek

The surname Quek originates from China, specifically from the Hokkien and Teochew dialect groups. It is believed to have emerged during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) in the southern regions of China. The name is derived from the Chinese character "曲," which means "bent" or "crooked," and may have been used to describe a physical characteristic or the occupation of an ancestor.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quek can be found in the Shun Feng Xiang Zhi, a local gazetteer from Fujian Province, dating back to the 17th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Quek, suggesting that the name had already established itself in the region by that time.

In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Quek surname was Quek Qing, a scholar and poet who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). His works were widely praised and contributed to the preservation of the Hokkien literary tradition.

As Chinese immigrants began to settle in Southeast Asia during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Quek surname spread to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. One of the earliest recorded Quek families in Singapore can be traced back to Quek Beng Swee, a merchant who arrived in the 1840s.

Another prominent individual with the Quek surname was Quek Leng Chan (1884-1967), a prominent businessman and philanthropist in Singapore. He was instrumental in establishing several educational institutions and played a significant role in the development of the Chinese community in the city-state.

In Malaysia, Quek Shew Peng (1921-2006) was a successful entrepreneur and founder of the Hong Leong Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the country. He was renowned for his business acumen and philanthropic endeavors.

The Quek surname has also been associated with several place names in China, such as Quek Tong Village in Guangdong Province and Quek Shan Mountain in Fujian Province, further highlighting its historical roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Quek

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Quek.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Quek was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Quek has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Quek was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Quek, please contact us.

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