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

Quiej, 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 Quiej surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Quiej in America

Quiej is the 112568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Quiej surname appeared 156 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 Quiej.

The history of the last name Quiej

The surname QUIEJ originated from the Quechua language, which is an indigenous language family spoken primarily in the Andes region of South America. The name can be traced back to the 15th century during the time of the Inca Empire.

QUIEJ is believed to have derived from the Quechua word "quiej," which means "left-handed" or "southpaw." In the Inca culture, left-handedness was often associated with special abilities or qualities, and those bearing this trait were highly regarded.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name QUIEJ can be found in the Huarochiri Manuscript, a 16th-century document that chronicles the customs and beliefs of the indigenous people of the Huarochiri region in present-day Peru. The manuscript mentions a prominent figure named Quiej Inca, who was revered for his skills as a warrior and his leadership abilities.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many indigenous names were adapted and Hispanicized. As a result, the name QUIEJ underwent various spelling variations, such as Quiejo, Quiexo, and Quiejo.

Notable individuals with the surname QUIEJ include:

1. Atahualpa Quiej (c. 1497-1533), the last Sapa Inca (emperor) of the Inca Empire, who was captured and executed by the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro.

2. Tupac Amaru Quiej (c. 1545-1572), a renowned Inca leader who led a major rebellion against the Spanish colonial rule in Peru.

3. Micaela Bastidas Quiej (c. 1744-1781), a Indigenous Ecuadorian rebel and folk hero who fought against the Spanish colonial authorities during the Revolt of the Manuelitas.

4. Juan Diego Quiej (c. 1474-1548), a Catholic saint and the first indigenous American saint from Mexico, who reported having visions of the Virgin Mary.

5. Rigoberta Menchú Quiej (born 1959), a Guatemalan Indigenous rights activist who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her efforts in promoting Indigenous rights and non-violent resistance.

While the surname QUIEJ originated from the Quechua language and was prevalent among the indigenous populations of the Andes region, it has since spread to various parts of South and Central America, as well as other parts of the world due to migration and cultural diffusion.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Quiej

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

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 Quiej 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.

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 Quiej was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!