English
The surname Quin is of Irish origin. The name is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name O'Cuinn, 'descendant of Conn', a byname meaning leader, chief. Quinn is the name of an ancient Irish family, whose forebears were once chiefs of the Clan Hefferman. One of their earliest recorded ancestors is Donogh Quinn, living in 1551. They are unusual in being one of the few Celtic families in the peerage, holding the titles Earl of Dunraven and Mountearl. Quinn is one of the most numerous Irish surnames, the number of people in Ireland so called at the present day being estimated at seventeen thousand. At the present time as a rule Catholic families use two Ns and Protestants one; but this practice is not invariable now, and was less so in the past. One of the first persons recorded to have borne this name is that of Niall O Cuinn, who was killed at the battle of Clontarf in 1014; the battle which finally destroyed the power of the Norseman ( or Danes as they are often called ). Families of O'Quinn settled in France and became leading citizens both in Bordeaux and Pau. There is a street called Rue O'Quinn in Bordeaux, indicating the importance of the family, which is still extant in that part of France. The name was brought to America by Irish immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a George Quinn, who emigrated to America aboard the John and Sarah; he settled in Boston, Massachusetts. This name is the three-hundredth and ninth most common surname in America.