Quinn
Ó Cuinn · descendant of Conn
Quinn is Ó Cuinn in Irish, said oh KWIN, and means descendant of Conn.
Conn means sense or counsel, and it is the Conn of Conn Céadchathach, Conn of the Hundred Battles. Four distinct families, four counties, one spelling.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Cuinn
- His daughter: Ní Chuinn
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Chuinn
- The family together: Uí Chuinn
Where it comes from
Tyrone, Clare, Longford and Antrim
Also spelt
Quinn, O’Quinn, Quin
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.