The Quimby surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,628 people carried this name — #7,211 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 63,700 people counted. That is down 1% from 4,671 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Quimby surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Quenby’.

An early record he cites: Ralph de Quenebi, Huntingdonshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Quinby, Quimby, Quenby and Quemby.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 631 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

80 families named Quimby, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 483 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New Hampshire 46
New York 17
Maine 6
Massachusetts 5
North Carolina 2
Vermont 1
Pennsylvania 1
Maryland 1
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 258 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Quimby in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from Rock Island Argus carrying the name Quimby
Rock Island Argus 1914-03-11
Newspaper page from The Watchman And Southron carrying the name Quimby
The Watchman And Southron 1914-05-09
Newspaper page from The Watchman And Southron carrying the name Quimby
The Watchman And Southron 1914-05-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Quimby in Australian newspapers,
1880s–1980s.

476 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Quimby. The most, 247, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 168
South Australia 79
Queensland 74
Victoria 62
Western Australia 57
ACT (Canberra) 16
Tasmania 16
Northern Territory 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Quimby.

Who carried it

People named Quimby,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Phineas Quimby
    Phineas Quimby 1802–1866 · inventor
  • Harriet Quimby
    Harriet Quimby 1875–1912 · screenwriter
  • Fred Quimby
    Fred Quimby 1886–1965 · animator
  • Edith Quimby
    Edith Quimby 1891–1982 · scientist
  • Margaret Quimby
    Margaret Quimby 1904–1965 · actor
  • Darius Quimby d. 1791 · police officer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Quimby,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States563 records

563 records of the Quimby name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 212
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 179
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 93
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 49
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 12
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Earl D. Quimby

    Born 1922 in New Hampshire. Enlisted 1942 at Manchester; driver from Coos County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Glenwood Cemetery, Littleton, New Hampshire.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Daniel Lee Quimby

    Born 1948; from Beverly, Ohio. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; died of wounds 1968 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Quimby

    Arrived at Boston in 1847 aboard the Tarolinta from Liverpool, aged 24; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 563 records for Quimby in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia8 records

8 records of the Quimby name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Quimby

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Fanny, aged 31; American.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emily Quimby

    Arrived in Queensland in 1889 aboard the Taroba, aged 23.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emily Quimby

    Arrived in Queensland in 1889 aboard the Taroba.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Quimby in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Quimby name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Gertrude Frances Quimby

    Buried in 1965 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Earl Quimby

    Buried in 1972 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Thomas Quimby

    Listed at Sherbrooke, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Quimby in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Quimby.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Quimby is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Quimby volume
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