2000
#25,006
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 932
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.35
Very Rare Last name
Quincy
A habitational surname derived from the French placename Quincy.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 977 Americans carry the last name Quincy. That puts it at #29,518 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 350,823 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quincy 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
977
1 in 350,823
Census rank
#29,518
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
852
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 852 bearers of the surname Quincy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29518th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quincy, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.1%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quincy
The surname Quincy originated in France, derived from the town of Quincy in the region of Burgundy. Its earliest known spelling was "Quinci" or "Quency," traced back to the 11th century. The name is believed to have evolved from the Latin word "Quintius," which was a Roman family name.
The first recorded instances of the Quincy surname appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest. The entry lists individuals with the name "de Quinci" or "de Quency," indicating their connection to the French town.
One of the earliest notable figures with the Quincy surname was Saher de Quincy (c. 1155-1219), an influential English nobleman and crusader. He participated in the Third Crusade and later served as the Earl of Winchester under King John.
Another prominent individual was Roger de Quincy (c. 1195-1264), who was the 2nd Earl of Winchester and a powerful baron during the reign of King Henry III. He played a significant role in the negotiations that led to the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, which aimed to limit the king's powers.
In the United States, one of the earliest individuals with the Quincy surname was Edmund Quincy (1602-1637), who was born in England and emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633. He became a prominent figure in the early colonial government of Massachusetts.
The name Quincy is also associated with the town of Quincy, Massachusetts, which was named after Colonel John Quincy (1689-1767), a descendant of Edmund Quincy. John Quincy's grandson, John Quincy Adams (1767-1848), served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829.
Another notable figure was Josiah Quincy (1772-1864), a prominent lawyer, politician, and advocate for the abolition of slavery in the United States. He served as the president of Harvard University from 1829 to 1845.
Over the centuries, the Quincy surname has been associated with various place names, such as Quincy, Illinois, and Quincy, Florida, reflecting the influence and migration of individuals bearing this name across different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quincy
Among Census respondents with the surname Quincy, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.1%) and Two or More Races (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Quincy 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 Quincy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.5% · 524
- Black or African American25.1% · 214
- Two or more races6.2% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quincy
Quincy 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
#24,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,012
+80 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Up 341 places
2020
#29,518
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 852
-160 bearers (-15.8%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 4,853 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,006 | 932 | 0.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,665 | 1,012 | 0.34 | +80 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 341 places |
| 2020 | #29,518 | 852 | 0.29 | -160 bearers (-15.8%) | Down 4,853 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 Quincy 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 | #24,665 | #29,518 | -19.7% |
| Count | 1,012 | 852 | -15.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.34 | 0.29 | -16.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quincy bearers went from 1,012 to 852 (-15.8% change). The surname moved down 4,853 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,665 to #29,518.
FAQ
Quincy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quincy?
Name Census estimates that about 977 living Americans carry the surname Quincy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 350,823 residents.
How common is Quincy?
Quincy ranks #29,518 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 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 852 people with the surname Quincy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (977), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 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 Quincy.
Has Quincy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quincy went from 1,012 recorded bearers to 852. That is a decrease of 160 (-15.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #24,665 to #29,518.
What does the Census say about the background of Quincy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quincy, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (25.1%) and Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Quincy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (524 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quincy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.5%), Black (25.1%), Two or More Races (6.2%). 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 Quincy (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 Quincy mean?
A habitational surname derived from the French placename Quincy. 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 Quincy (0.29 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 Quincy?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Quincy is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.