Quinlan
Masculine · “well-shaped”
Quinlan is given to both — 2,561 boys and 735 girls since 1880. See Quinlan as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Quinlan is an Irish surname built on a word for shapeliness — the original is a compound about being well-formed, which is a rare thing for a name to say.
How old is the name Quinlan?
Quinlan first appears in US birth records in 1977 — 48 years ago. The typical Quinlan alive today was born around 2005, making them about 20 years old. About 2,500 people named Quinlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Quinlan most popular?
Quinlan peaked in 2006, reaching #1172 nationally. Today it ranks #3848, 2,676 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Caoindealbhán to Quinlan
The story of Quinlan
The Ó Caoindealbháin were a Meath family descended from the kings of Loegaire, and the surname was anglicized as Quinlan and Kindellan. Irish naming built a number of names on dealbh, a form or figure, which is unusual — most naming vocabularies describe qualities or animals rather than shape. It reached America with Irish emigration and its use as a given name is recent.
Meaning
well-shaped, comely
From Irish Ó Caoindealbháin; the personal name joins caoin, gentle or fair, to dealbh, a shape or form, with a diminutive. The whole says something like of the gentle form.
How the name formed
- Caoindealbhán
- Ó Caoindealbháin
- Quinlan
Related forms: Ó Caoindealbháin · Kindellan
Pronouncing Quinlan
KWIN-lan
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation in English.
Nicknames for Quinlan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1977
- Most boys named
- 2006144 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1172reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- −12.5%28 in 2025, from 32
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Quinlan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Caoindealbháin in Irish — same name
- Kindellan in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Colorado, Indiana.
Quinlans among us
people named Quinlan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 61,003 born in 2025 was named Quinlan
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Derryl test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Quinlan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Derryl climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Derryl's path sketches the road Quinlan is walking now.
Quinlan sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Quinlan is headed
Quinlan should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Quinlan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Quinlan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Irish meaning that is unusually specific and rather charming.
- Quinn is a complete short form in very current use.
- The initial Q keeps it distinct on any list.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- The Irish original is unrecognizable from the English spelling.
- Quinlan and Quinlin are both in use and neither is dominant.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Quinlan to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Quinlan
Masculine · #3848 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Quinlans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,500 people named Quinlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Quinlan in 2025?
- Quinlan ranks #3848 among US boy names in 2025, with 28 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Quinlan?
- About 1 in every 61,003 US boys born in 2025 was named Quinlan — 28 in all.
- Will my child share the name Quinlan with classmates?
- Quinlan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Quinlan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Armand#3848 · Tracy#3848 · Stafford#3848 · Dewey#3848 · Donny#3848 · Trevion#3848 · Coltyn#3848 · Isreal#3848
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Quinlan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Quinlan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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