Girl Names Starting with Q: Popular Quinn to Rare Quitterie

Girl names starting with Q make for a select and quirky list.

There aren’t many to choose from. It ranks twenty-fifth of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Only U offers fewer choices for our daughters.

Until recently, just one of the baby girl names beginning with Q made the Top 1000. Now two Q names for girls chart, though only one ranks in the Top 100.

The rest range from vaguely familiar to downright rare. That makes the letter Q a logical possibility if you’re hoping for a stand-out baby name.

That means these Q names could be just perfect for a child.

GIRL NAMES STARTING WITH Q in the US TOP 1000

QUINN (#85)

A Top 100 favorite, Irish surname Quinn is more popular for girls than boys. It’s a modern take on Lynn with the benefit of that stylish initial. Alternative spellings like Quin are sometimes seen, but Quinn remains the overwhelming favorite.

QUINCY (#977)

Long before there was The Good Doctor or House, another medical drama featured a brilliant, principled doctor – Quincy, M.E. (The 1970s show focused on a medical examiner who helped the Los Angeles police solve crimes.) But that’s long in the past now, and Quincy fits with so many appealing surname names. You might find it spelled Quincey or even Quincie or Quincee, too, but Quincy is the spelling that ranks as most popular.

RARE & UNCOMMON GIRL NAMES STARTING WITH Q

QADIRA

An Arabic name meaning mighty.

QIANA and QUIANA

In the 1960s, DuPont created a silky fabric called Qiana. It caught on as a baby name by the late 1970s. The spelling Quiana saw some use, too, as did Kiana. The K spelling remains the most popular, and also has other possible origins.

QIRA

If Qiana became Kiana, maybe it’s no surprise that Kyra became Qira … at least every once in a while.

QUEEN

A regal title name in the key of Duke, Prince, and King, with some rock and roll edge, too.

QUEENIE

Queen shares much with King, while Queenie might be closer to sparky retro nickname names like Sadie and Millie. It’s a particularly appealing nickname option for Victoria, inspired by the long-reigning British monarch. Queena is another possibility.

QUENBY

An old school place name, preserved in England’s Quenby Hall.

QUERALT

A Spanish place name associated with the Virgin Mary, Queralt has enjoyed use in Spain and elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world. In English, it sounds quite close to Carol.

QUERIDA

A Spanish word meaning sweetheart, it’s rare as a given name, but not unknown.

QUEST

A daring word name, and a unisex choice for a son or a daughter. It seems like a logical successor to so-popular Journey.

QUETA

It’s not obvious to English speakers at first glance, but Queta is a Spanish feminine form of Henry. How? Henry is Enrique in Spanish; Enriqueta is the feminine variation. And Queta is a short form of the last.

QUETZAL

Among the rarest of the bird names.

QUETZALLI

A Nahuatl name meaning feather, or possibly “precious thing,” this name refers to the quetzal bird. It’s native to Guatemala and Mexico. Many indigenous names have filtered into wider use in those regions, like Citlali and Xochitl. As Spanish-speaking families have moved to the US, they’ve brought those names along, too, so Quetzalli is occasionally heard in the US.

QUILLA

It could be a name borrowed from Incan mythology, or possibly a form of Aquila – meaning eagle.

QUINCE

It might be short for a longer name, but Quince is a small fruit that looks a little like a pear. A clothing brand also uses the name.

QUINLAN

An Irish surname name that could work well for a daughter, especially with nickname Quinn.

QUINLEY

While Quinley is used in very small numbers, many alternative spellings make this Quinn + -ley name more popular than it first appears. You might also see Quinnley, Quinnlee, Quinlee, or other spellings that echo many popular girl names of the moment.

QUINLYN

As with Quinley, Quinlyn can also be spelled Quinnlynn, Quinlynn, or Quinnlyn. In this case, it’s somewhere between the add -lyn approach so popular for girls’ names and the surname Quinlan.

QUINTANA

Possibly a name for a fifth child, akin to Quentin or Quintin for a son and so many other potential number-inspired names.

QUINTESSA

It looks like a Quinn-Tessa mashup, but Quintessa comes from the word quintessence. It refers to perfection. Think of quintessential – the ultimate form. It originally referred to ether – the fifth element suggested by Aristotle to complement air, fire, water, and earth.

QUIRINA, QUIRINE

Quirine is a feminine form of ancient Quirinius, meaning spear. There’s a strength to this unexpected name. Quirina was used in the ancient world and remains sometimes heard in Italian.

QUITERIA

It’s both the name of a fifth-century saint and a name associated with Greek love goddess Aphrodite.

QUITTERIE

The French form of Quiteria.

QUINTESSENCE

Uncommon as a word, and nearly unknown as a given name, Quintessence implies perfection. It makes the related Quintessa seem even more name-like, though both could shorten to Quinn or Tess.

QUORRA

At first glance, Quorra is a complicated spelling for Cora. Except it’s the version used in sci fi, from Tron to Star Trek, and that makes it familiar to a wide audience. Question-and-answer site Quora also comes to mind.

What are your favorite girl names starting with Q?

First published on April 26, 2021, this post was revised and re-published on January 17, 2022; April 10, 2023; January 11, 2024; and August 12, 2024.