Quinn
An Irish surname usually meaning “descendant of Conn,” with Conn understood as “wise” or “intelligent.”
The #422 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,010 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Quinn is the Anglicized form of Irish surnames such as Ó Cuinn and related forms like Mac Cuinn. The core name is Conn, a very old Irish personal name commonly explained as meaning “wisdom,” “sense,” or “intelligence.” Some 19th-century writers also linked it with a word for “hound” used figuratively of a warrior, but the “descendant of Conn” explanation is the standard one.
History
The name appears widely in Ireland and later spread through Irish migration to Britain, North America, and beyond. Historical surname books often note that Quinn is one of several Irish names whose O' or Mac prefix was sometimes dropped in English usage. Variant forms and related surnames include O'Quinn, Quin, Quinney, and MacQuinn.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname dictionaries, Quinn is often grouped with a whole family of related forms built on the same Irish root, showing how one Gaelic name could generate several English spellings.
From the historical record
“dealbh, face + the dim. suff. -dn\ QUINN, v. O'Quinn. QUINNELL, v. Quennell. QUINNEY (Celt.) tor the Manx and Irish Mac Cuinnaidh (dh mute) = Son of Connaidh, i.e. the Crafty [Ir. mac, son + the genit. of connaidh{e, crafty]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)