He sounds buttoned-down, but he’s been worn by some serious tough guys.
Thanks to Emma for suggesting Quentin as Name of the Day.
Quentin comes from the Latin quintus – five. Quintus was worn by dozens of notables in the Roman Empire, and you’ll find Quintinus in the historical record, too.
Quentin appears in the French Top 100 today, and has been in use for centuries. In the 200s, Saint Quentin of Amiens was a Roman citizen turned Christian missionary and martyred in Gaul. While we know little of his life, we do know that his tomb became an important pilgrimage site in medieval France.
Many places were named in his honor, and so the Normans brought Quentin to England in two forms – as a surname for those from one of the towns, and as a given name, too.
In the US, the most famous San Quentin is in California, the home of a famous state prison first opened in 1852. It’s housed the notorious, from Black Bart to Sirhan Sirhan. Maybe that’s one of the reasons Quentin feels tougher than his sound suggests.
Then there’s the inventive, celebrated and unapologetically violent director Quentin Tarantino. Reservoir Dogs put him on the map in 1992. Today, Inglorious Basterds is up for Oscars. He’s probably the reason dads who prefer names like Gunnar and Slade find Quentin an acceptably masculine moniker.
Other famous Quentins include:
- Walter Scott’s 1823 novel Quentin Durward is about a Scottish archer in the service of King Louis XI. It’s history with splashes of romance – Quentin gets the girl;
- The youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt was called Quentin. Just a toddler when dad won the White House, he went on to become a fighter pilot during World War I and died in service;
- Nineteenth century English businessman turned philanthropist, Quintin Hogg’s gifts helped establish the University of Westminster;
- William Faulkner’s fictional Quentin Compson appeared in Absalom! Absalom! and The Sound and the Fury;
- Athletic Quentins include the NFL’s Quentin Jammer of the San Diego Chargers;
- Fatboy Slim’s real name is Norman Quentin Cook;
- Quentin Crisp is a noted English writer;
- Enid Blyton gave the name to the Uncle in her Famous Five series;
- Quentin Travers was a character in TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a good guy who isn’t necessarily good;
- Quentin Beck was a Marvel Comics bad guy and nemesis of Spider-man;
- Dr. Quentin Costa was a Nip/Tuck plastic surgeon turned out to be a serial rapist;
- Dark Shadows’ Quentin Collins was a TV vampire in the late 1960s;
- Quentin Sondergaard starred on TV Westerns in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Quentin has risen and fallen since entering the US Top 1000 in the early 1900s. Today he stands at #379. The unrelated Quinn could serve as a nickname – but just like Finn, he stands on his own and. In 2008, Quinn charted at #280. Variant spelling Quinten ranked #887, Quintin #686 and Quinton #464.
Just like Quinn is sometimes given to girls, there’s at least one famous female Quentin – Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia.
Quentin is quirky and just a little bit different. His sound is soft, but his history of use suggests your Quentin is more likely to be a solider than poet. With the nickname option Quinn, it is easy to see this choice wearing well on a son born circa 2010.
I really like Quentin/Quintin but would feel wrong naming a child something that is essentially a number. It would be akin to naming a first born Secundus – unless it was the fifth child or born the fifth day of the fifth month, or some other very good reason, I just couldn’t do it.
It’s not bad – it’s just not my style. It’s a family member’s middle name – I don’t think he actually liked it, to be honest. It’s a bit dull to me. I do like Quinn & Finn, though.
I’m not a fan. To make it worse, I know a mommy of a Cayden, who had a second son and named him Quintyn. Or was is Quynten? I don’t know, but her reasoning was that since big bro had a Y in his name, little bro ought to as well. This kind of ruined the name for me, even if it hadn’t already been off my list.
My first association is the illustrator Quentin Blake, which makes me like the name because of his illustrations for the Roald Dahl books. Can’t see using Roald, but Quentin is usable.
A couple of years back my husband’s cousin named her first son Quinton, which I’m not such a fan of, although the sound is so similar. I’m guessing they were after the nickname Quin – right around the same time another of my husband’s cousins (other side of the family) called their first son Finnegan. So Quinn and Finn joined the family right at the same time.
Abby is seriously batting 1000 this week! She keeps picking names I like..I like Quentin, I think its one of those names that could work well for a kid or an adult. As a kid you can be Quinn, as an adult he can be Quint or Quentin. I probably wouldn’t use it, though, because Quinlan is my favorite boys names, and you couldn’t have two Q’s in the same family. (Abby, you should use Quinlan as a Name of the Day!)
One of my cousins named her first-born daughter Quinn, who is now 18. Also, I know two Quentins personally, both men in their 40s, although they don’t know each other. I like this name, but I wouldn’t use it personally. I have too many other favorites!
I love Quentin! It’s one of my favorite names, even though I think of the prison. It also reminds me of Johnny Cash because he had an album called “At San Quentin”. I am a huge fan of him.
I adore Quentin!!! It’s my number one pick for a boy right now. I love that it sounds both tough and poetic/artsy at the same time. I’m not fond of the meaning but I still love it. The nickname Quin and Quent are adorable too.
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