2000
#26,898
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 849
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Very Rare Last name
Quiggle
A variant of the English surname Quigley, possibly derived from an Irish place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 969 Americans carry the last name Quiggle. That puts it at #29,734 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 353,720 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quiggle 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.
Bearers in the US
969
1 in 353,720
Census rank
#29,734
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
845
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 845 bearers of the surname Quiggle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29734th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quiggle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quiggle
The surname Quiggle has its origins in the historic county of Northumberland in the north of England. It dates back to at least the 13th century, deriving from the Old English words "cwicc" meaning lively and "gel" meaning a strip of land. It likely referred to someone who lived on or worked fertile land.
Records show the earliest spelling was Quicgel in 1273, in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland. Similar spellings like Quikgill and Quigyll also appeared in the 14th century. The name spread across northern England and Scotland over the following centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers was Robert Quiggell, a farmer from Alnmouth, Northumberland mentioned in the town's tax records in 1379. Another early example is John Quigill, a merchant from Berwick-upon-Tweed recorded in 1427.
In the 16th century, the Quiggle spelling emerged more prominently. Notably, Roger Quiggle was recorded as holding land in Hauxley, Northumberland in 1558. His descendant William Quiggle (1612-1687) became a respected magistrate in Newcastle.
Moving into the 1700s, Samuel Quiggle (1732-1805) was a noted educator who established schools in Durham. A century later, Joseph Quiggle (1843-1911) was a mining engineer and entrepreneur who made innovations in coal extraction in Yorkshire.
Other bearers included the author Margery Quiggle (1886-1964) who wrote popular children's books, and artist Edward Quiggle (1920-1998) renowned for his landscape paintings of the Lake District.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quiggle
Among Census respondents with the surname Quiggle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Quiggle 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 Quiggle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.1% · 787
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 24
- Two or more races2.8% · 24
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 6
- Black or African American0.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quiggle
Quiggle 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
#27,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 878
+29 bearers (+3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.30
Rank movement Down 554 places
2020
#29,734
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 845
-33 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Down 2,282 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,898 | 849 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #27,452 | 878 | 0.30 | +29 bearers (+3.4%) | Down 554 places |
| 2020 | #29,734 | 845 | 0.28 | -33 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 2,282 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 Quiggle 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 | #27,452 | #29,734 | -8.3% |
| Count | 878 | 845 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.30 | 0.28 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quiggle bearers went from 878 to 845 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 2,282 positions in the national ranking, going from #27,452 to #29,734.
FAQ
Quiggle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quiggle?
Name Census estimates that about 969 living Americans carry the surname Quiggle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 353,720 residents.
How common is Quiggle?
Quiggle ranks #29,734 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 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 845 people with the surname Quiggle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (969), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 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 Quiggle.
Has Quiggle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quiggle went from 878 recorded bearers to 845. That is a decrease of 33 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #27,452 to #29,734.
What does the Census say about the background of Quiggle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quiggle, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Quiggle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (787 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quiggle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.1%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Quiggle (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 Quiggle mean?
A variant of the English surname Quigley, possibly derived from an Irish place name. 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 Quiggle (0.28 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 many people share the surname Quiggle?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.