2000
#18,246
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,404
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Quill
A surname derived from the writing instrument made from a feather.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,562 Americans carry the last name Quill. That puts it at #19,801 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 219,433 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quill 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 Quill with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.6K
1 in 219,433
Census rank
#19,801
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,362 bearers of the surname Quill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19801st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quill, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quill
The surname Quill is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cyl" or "cyll," which meant "feather" or "quill." The name likely originated in the Middle Ages, when it was adopted as a surname by those who worked with quills or feathers, such as scribes, writers, or feather merchants.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Quill can be found in various medieval records, including the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which list a John Quyll from Oxfordshire. The name also appears in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1212, where a Robert Quill is mentioned.
In the 14th century, the surname Quill was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Warwickshire. Some notable examples from this period include John Quyll, a landowner in Oxfordshire recorded in the Feet of Fines in 1348, and William Quill, a resident of Warwickshire mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of 1332.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spelling of the surname varied, with forms such as Quill, Quyll, and Quile appearing in various records. One notable figure from this time was Thomas Quill, a merchant from London who lived in the early 17th century and was involved in the colonial trade with Virginia.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Quill continued to be found throughout England, with concentrations in the Midlands and the South East. One prominent individual was James Quill (1716-1805), a notable architect from Somerset who designed several churches and country houses in the region.
Another notable bearer of the Quill surname was Sir Michael Quill (1805-1876), a British diplomat and politician who served as the Governor of the Ionian Islands from 1859 to 1864. He was also a Member of Parliament for Barnstaple from 1852 to 1857.
In the literary world, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Quill was Stephen Quill (1854-1920), an Irish author and poet who wrote several volumes of verse and plays in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While the surname Quill is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English surnames, with its origins rooted in the medieval crafts of writing and feather-working.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quill
Among Census respondents with the surname Quill, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Quill 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 Quill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.4% · 1,136
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 79
- Two or more races4.8% · 66
- Black or African American3.5% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quill
Quill 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
#18,337
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,511
+107 bearers (+7.6%)
Per 100,000 0.51
Rank movement Down 91 places
2020
#19,801
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,362
-149 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.46
Rank movement Down 1,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,246 | 1,404 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,337 | 1,511 | 0.51 | +107 bearers (+7.6%) | Down 91 places |
| 2020 | #19,801 | 1,362 | 0.46 | -149 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 1,464 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 Quill 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 | #18,337 | #19,801 | -8.0% |
| Count | 1,511 | 1,362 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.51 | 0.46 | -10.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quill bearers went from 1,511 to 1,362 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 1,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,337 to #19,801.
FAQ
Quill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quill?
Name Census estimates that about 1,562 living Americans carry the surname Quill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 219,433 residents.
How common is Quill?
Quill ranks #19,801 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.46 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 1,362 people with the surname Quill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,562), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.46 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 Quill.
Has Quill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quill went from 1,511 recorded bearers to 1,362. That is a decrease of 149 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,337 to #19,801.
What does the Census say about the background of Quill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quill, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Quill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.4% (1,136 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.4%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Quill (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 Quill mean?
A surname derived from the writing instrument made from a feather. 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 Quill (0.46 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 are called Quill?
See how many Americans have the surname Quill on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.