Quigley as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Quigley

What is the meaning of the name Quigley ?

The baby name Quigley is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈkwɪɡli/ (KWIG-lee).

Quigley is Irish in Origin.

Quigley is an Irish surname-turned-given name, anglicizing Gaelic Ó Coigligh (“descendant of Coigleach”). The underlying personal byname Coigleach is of debated origin; scholars connect it either to coigeal “distaff/spindle,” used metaphorically, or to coigleach “untidy, unruly,” yielding a sense like “the unkempt one.” The surname is well-attested in Ulster - especially Donegal, Tyrone, and Derry - from medieval records onward, and later spread with Irish emigration to Britain and North America.

Adopted as a first name in the late 20th century, Quigley follows the broader surname-as-given-name trend and is used for boys and girls, though rarer as a forename than a family name. Variants and related forms include O’Quigley, Quiggley, Quigly, and the shortened Quigg; the Irish-language surname is Ó Coigligh (with Ní Choigligh for women).