Quinn is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Coinn or Mac Cuinn. The latter surname means "descendant of Conn".[1] The surname Quinn is also rendered Ó Cuinn or Mac Cuinn in Irish.[2] The surname is borne by several unrelated families in Ireland, especially in the northern province of Ulster and also the counties of Clare, Longford, and Mayo.[3] According to the historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Quins were part of the Conmaicne Rein tribe in Ireland who came from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland from about 500 and 100 BC.[4] The most notable family of the name are that of Thomond, a Dalcassian sept,[5] who derive their surname from Niall Ó Cuinn who was slain at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.[6] This family was formerly represented by the Earls of Dunraven.[7] Another family is that seated in Annaly, who were related to the O'Farrell lords of Longford. Another Quinn family was seated at An Chraobh, County Tyrone and they were related to the O'Neill Kings of Tír Eoghain and for whom they acted as Hereditary Quartermasters. Other families include one seated in Antrim; one seated in Raphoe; and one called Clann Cuain, seated near Castlebar.[8] In the seventeenth century, the surname Quinn was common in Waterford. In 1890, the surname was numerous in Dublin, Tyrone, Antrim, and Roscommon. Quinn is one of the twenty most common surnames in Ireland. The surname Quinn is sometimes associated with Catholics, while Quin is associated with Protestants.[9]

Quinn
Language(s)Irish
Origin
MeaningSon of Conn
Region of originIreland

Surname

edit
  • Quinn (born 1995), Canadian soccer player and Olympic gold medalist
  • Zebb Quinn (1981–2000), American murder victim
  • Zoë Quinn (born 1987), American video game developer

Fictional characters

edit
  • Billy Quinn, a character in the 1989 American-Canadian fantasy drama movie Prancer
    • Rachel Quinn, Corbin's wife, a character in Chrononauts and Chrononauts: Futureshock
    • Matilda Quinn, Corbin's and Rachel's daughter, a character in Chrononauts: Futureshock
  • Daniel Quinn, the main character in Paul Auster's City of Glass, the first of three novels in The New York Trilogy
  • Doctor Quentin Q. Quinn in Sealab 2021
  • Dottie Quinn, a character in the American psychological thriller television series You
  • Forty Quinn, a character in the American psychological thriller television series You
  • Michaela A. Quinn, in the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
  • Harley Quinn, a DC comics character
  • Joey Quinn, a police detective in Dexter
  • Jonas Quinn in the sci-fi television series Stargate SG-1
  • Love Quinn, a character in the American psychological thriller television series You
  • Roberta "Summer" Quinn, a character in the American action drama TV series Baywatch
  • Robbie Quinn in the soap opera Fair City
  • Tom Quinn (Spooks), the lead character in the British spy-thriller series Spooks

See also

edit

References

edit
  • de Bhulbh, S (1997). Sloinnte na h-Éireann: Irish Surnames. Limerick: Comhar-Chumann Íde Naofa Teo. ISBN 0-9530560-0-7. OL 316008M.
  • Cairney, C. Thomas (1989). Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States, and London: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0899503624.
  • Grehan, I (1997). The Dictionary of Irish Family Names. Boulder: Robert Rineheart Publishers. ISBN 1-57098-137-X. OL 8699749M.
  • MacLysaght, E (1972). Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins (3rd ed.). New York: Crown Publishers. OL 23251759M.
  • O'Laughlin, M (1992). The Book of Irish Families Great & Small. Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation. ISBN 0-940134-08-X. OL 1326957M.
  • "Quinn Family History". Ancestry.com. n.d. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
edit