QIAOChinese Named after a Chinese mountain, Qiao Shan, where Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was supposedly buried. This is the 96th most common surname in China.
QINChinese From Chinese 秦 (qín) referring to the ancient state of Qin, which existed from 221 BC to 206 BC in what is now the Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.
QINGChinese From Chinese 青 (qīng) meaning "blue, green, young".
QUACKENBUSHDutch (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Dutch Quackenbosch, a topographic name from Dutch quaak ‘swamp’ (cognate with the English word quagmire) + bosch ‘woodland’, ‘wilderness’.
QUAILEnglish, Manx A variant of Quayle, derived from various patronymics meaning "son of Paul". Alternately, an English nickname derived from the bird, perhaps given to a person who was timid, or known for being promiscuous.
QUANTRELLEnglish From a medieval nickname for an elegantly or flamboyantly dressed person (from Middle English quointerel "dandy, fop", from quointe "known, knowledgeable, crafty, elegant").
QUARRYEnglish From Middle English quarey "quarry", a topographic name for someone who lived near a stone quarry, or a metonymic occupational name for someone who worked in one. ... [more]
QUARTERMAINEnglish From a medieval nickname for a very dextrous person, or for someone who habitually wore gloves (from Old French quatremains, literally "four hands"). A fictional bearer of the surname is Allan Quartermain, the hero of 'King Solomon's Mines' (1886) and other adventure novels by H. Rider Haggard... [more]
QUARTZGerman The name refers to the common mineral "quartz"
QUASTGerman habitational name from any of several places so named in northern Germany. metonymic occupational name for a barber or nickname for someone who wore a conspicuous tassel or feather, from Middle Low German, Middle High German quast(e) "tuft", "tassel", "brush", also "fool".
QUELCHEnglish (British) Mid 16th Century variant of the name Wels(c)he, Welsh or Welch, itself deriving from the Middle English "walsche", Celtic, foreign, (Olde English "woelisc", a derivative of "wealh", foreign), and originally given as a distinguishing nickname to a Celt... [more]
QUENBYEnglish English: of uncertain origin; perhaps a variant of Quarmby, a habitational name from a place so called in West Yorkshire.
QUENNELLEnglish From the medieval female personal name Quenilla, from Old English Cwēnhild, literally "woman-battle". This was borne by Peter Quennell (1905-1993), a British poet, critic and historian.
QUESADASpanish Habitational name from Quesada, a place in Jaén province. The place name is of uncertain derivation; there may be some connection with Old Spanish requexada meaning "corner", "tight spot".
QUEZONFilipino Meaning uncertain, possibly a variant of QUIZON or from Hokkien 郭孫 (keh-sun) derived from 郭 (keh) meaning "outer city" and 孫 (sun) meaning "grandchild"... [more]
QUIAMBAOFilipino Possibly from Hokkien 欠賺 (khiàm-báu) meaning "owed money, lacking money" or 鹹賺 (kiâm-báu) meaning "stingy with money".
QUILLENIrish The surname Quillen is derived from the personal name Hugelin, which is a diminutive of Hugh. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Uighilin.
QUINLIVANIrish (Anglicized) Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Caoindealbháin meaning "descendant of Caoindealbhán", a personal name composed of caoin "comely, fair" and dealbh "form" with the diminutive suffix -án (compare QUINLAN).
QUINTEROSpanish Habitational name from a location in Galicia named Quintero, from Galician quinteiro meaning "farmstead, square, plaza". Alternately, it may be derived from Spanish quinto meaning "fifth", possibly used as a name for a renter of quintas (a type of wine-growing estate).
QUINTOAragonese, Spanish, Catalan, Italian Habitational surname for a person from a place called Quinto, for example in Zaragoza province. However, the high concentration of the surname in Alacant province suggests that, in some cases at least, it may derive from the personal name QUINTO (from Latin QUINTUS denoting the fifth-born child or Catalan quinto "young soldier").... [more]
QUISLINGNorwegian A treacherous person who sides with opposing forces, this meaning comes from Vidkun Quisling of Norway. He helped the Germans during the German rule of Norway in the 1940's. Original meaning "One from" (-ling) "Quislemark", (quis) A romanization of the place name of Kvislemark.
QURESHIArabic, Urdu Originally denoted a member of the Quraysh, a historical Arab tribe that the Prophet Muhammad belonged to. The name itself is derived from Arabic قَرَشَ (qaraša) meaning "to gnash, to grind, to chew".
QURSAWITatar Derived from the Arabic word قرصة (qursa) meaning "pinch".