Quinby as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Quinby

What is the meaning of the name Quinby ?

The baby name Quinby is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced KWIN-bee (/ˈkwɪnbi/).

Quinby is English in Origin.

Quinby is an English surname-turned-given name with Scandinavian roots. It derives from the Danelaw place-name element by, “farmstead, village,” joined to Old Norse kvenna, “women,” yielding “women’s farm/settlement”; some sources gloss it as “queen’s settlement” via the related Old English cwen. The spelling appears in medieval English records alongside Quenby and Quimby, preserved in toponyms like Quenby Hall, Leicestershire. As a family name, it traveled to North America in the colonial era and remained well established in English-speaking records.

Used as a first name since the late 19th century but rare, Quinby today reads as a modern, gender-neutral choice, akin to Darby or Crosby. Variant spellings include Quenby, Quinbee, and Quimby; diminutives Quin/Quinn are common. Meaning centers on a Norse farmstead belonging to women, evoking community and heritage. Usages are infrequent but steady in the US and UK since the late 20th century.

⚙ Quinby is exceptionally rare. Across 2 countries, we found just 2 recorded uses of it.