Quimby
A name that likely began as a place-name surname, meaning “from Quenby” in Leicestershire.
The #7,211 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,713 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Quimby is generally explained as a locational surname, from Quenby, a hamlet in Hungerton, Leicestershire. The spelling has shifted over time through forms such as Queneby, Quenby, Quinby, and Quimby. The place-name itself is older than the surname, and medieval records show people taking it as an identifier for origin or residence.
History
The surname appears in English records in medieval and post-medieval spelling variants, and it later traveled to North America with English migration. Modern American bearers preserve a form that is less common than Quinby but clearly part of the same family of spellings. The historical sources given treat Quimby as a local surname tied to Quenby rather than as a separate origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same place-name source can appear in several spellings, which is why Quimby and Quinby are usually treated as close historical variants.
From the historical record
“London, 6, 3 ; Boston (U.S.X a, 369. Quinby, Quimby. Quenby, Quemby.— Local, *of Quenby,* a hamlet in the parish ofHungerton, CO. Leic Ralph de Qnenebi, co. Hunt^, 1273. A.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)