Show ContentsO'Quinn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Irish name O'Quinn was originally written in a Gaelic form as Ó Cuinn, which means descendant of Conn.

Early Origins of the O'Quinn family

The surname O'Quinn was first found in county Longford (Irish: An Longfort) traditionally known as Annaly or Teffia, and situated in the Irish Midlands, in Northwest Leinster where they were Lords of Muintir Gillagain. The O'Quinns and MacQuinns (and all of the spelling variables derived from these) were descended from Conn, who in turn was descended from the Princes of Annaly.

Early History of the O'Quinn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Quinn research. Another 144 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1014, 1252, 1279, 1281, 1522, 1551, 1575, 1595, 1634, 1645, 1676, 1693, 1726 and 1766 are included under the topic Early O'Quinn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Quinn Spelling Variations

Many spelling variations of the surname O'Quinn can be found in the archives. One reason for these variations is that ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in a single person being recorded under several different spellings. The different spellings that were found include O'Quinn, Quin, Quinn, Quine, MacQuin, MacQuinn, McQuin, McQuinn, MacCuin, Cuinn, Cuin and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Quinn family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Thomas O'Quinn, Bishop of Clonmacnois (1252-1279), as well as John Quinn, Bishop of Limerick (1522-1551), as well as Thady Quin (1645-1726) of Adare of the Thomond O'Quins, who was the grandfather of...

O'Quinn Ranking

In the United States, the name O'Quinn is the 6,426th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


United States O'Quinn migration to the United States +

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the O'Quinn family came to North America quite early:

O'Quinn Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Mary O'Quinn, aged 18, who settled in America from Strokestown, in 1900
  • Mary O'Quinn, aged 18, who landed in America from Roscowmon, in 1901
  • Robert O'Quinn, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1922
  • James O'Quinn, aged 22, who immigrated to the United States, in 1923

Contemporary Notables of the name O'Quinn (post 1700) +

  • Kerry O'Quinn, American writer, magazine publisher, director and producer
  • Ryan O'Quinn (b. 1972), American television, film and voice actor
  • Ron O'Quinn (b. 1943), American radio disc jockey
  • John Maurice O'Quinn (1941-2009), Texas trial lawyer
  • John Williams "Red" O'Quinn (1925-2002), American gridiron football end
  • Daniel O'Quinn Jr. (b. 1985), American professional stock car racer
  • Terry O'Quinn (b. 1952), American actor


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook