The Quirk surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,392 people carried this name — #5,443 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 46,100 people counted. That is up 8% from 5,905 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Quirk surname

Irish and Manx surname, Anglicized from Ó Cuirc (“descendant of Corc”), a personal name derived from curc (“tuft of hair”). It was sometimes Anglicized as Oates due to an erroneous association with coirce (“oats”). Sometimes also a shortened variant of McGuirk.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Quirk» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Quirk in American newspapers,
1899–1900.

Newspaper page from The Chickasha Daily Express carrying the name Quirk
The Chickasha Daily Express 1900-12-14
Newspaper page from Freeland Tribune carrying the name Quirk
Freeland Tribune 1899-03-09
Newspaper page from Freeland Tribune carrying the name Quirk
Freeland Tribune 1899-05-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 131,529 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Quirk in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2010s.

47,443 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Quirk. The most, 8,637, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 24,275
Victoria 12,248
Queensland 7,377
Western Australia 1,703
South Australia 1,131
Tasmania 469
Northern Territory 105
ACT (Canberra) 92

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

Who carried it

People named Quirk,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dennis George Quirk
    Dennis George Quirk 1836–1903 · politician
  • Alice Quirk d. 1672
  • Christian Quirk d. 1855
  • Susan Quirk d. 1872
  • Sarah Quirk d. 1881
  • Ellen Quirk d. 1923

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 Quirk,
in the records of 7 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 States2,672 records

2,672 records of the Quirk name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 898
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 833
  • Other U.S. records 941
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John J. Quirk

    Born 1921 in Pennsylvania. Enlisted 1942 at Philadelphia; railroad brakeman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Quirk

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Kings Co, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jeffery Michael Quirk

    Born 1946; from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Gia Dinh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 2,672 records for Quirk in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,074 records

1,074 records of the Quirk name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 536
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 267
  • Other Australian records 271
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Eleanor Quirk

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Martin Luther, sailing from Dublin in 1852. Native of Kildare. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1857.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Edwd Quirk

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Tudor, aged 45; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Frederick George Quirk

    Retired of Kilsyth, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,074 records for Quirk in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada181 records

181 records of the Quirk name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 163
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 6
  • Other Canadian records 12
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Andrew Quirk

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 42; buried at St John's Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Patrick Joseph Quirk

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Londa Quirk

    Died 1971 in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, aged 71.

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

Showing 3 of 181 records for Quirk in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Quirk name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 14
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Quirk

    Died 1946, aged 64; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Quirk

    Died 1934, aged 77; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Quirk

    Died 1910, aged 44; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Quirk in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom13 records

13 records of the Quirk name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Quirk

    Royal Munster Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Quirk

    Machine Gun Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Quirk

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Quirk in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland1 record

1 record of the Quirk name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Quirk

    Died 1893, aged 43; buried at Oranmore (Medieval), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Quirk name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Quirk

    Died 1908 in Rotterdam, aged 42.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Quirk.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Quirk 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.

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