Language(s) | German, Middle English, Southern Min Chinese |
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Other names | |
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Quek is a Chinese, English, and German surname.
The English surname Quek is an alternative spelling of Quick, which originated from Middle English quek and earlier Old English cwic, both meaning 'lively' or 'nimble'. Quex and Quekes, toponymic surnames referring to Quex in Kent, are derived from Quek plus the English possessive marker s. [1]
As a Chinese surname, Quek is found in Southeast Asia among Overseas Chinese communities in Malaysia and in Singapore as an approximation of Southern Min pronunciations of the surname whose Standard Mandarin pronunciation is spelled in Hanyu Pinyin as Guō ( 郭). Other Southern Min-derived spellings of the same surname include Kek, Kerk, Kuek, Kweh, and Kwek. [2] [3]
The German surname Quek is a variant spelling of Queck, which is usually derived from Middle High German quec, kec, köc, koc, koch or Middle Low German kek, keck 'lively'. In some cases it may have originated as an occupational surname for a farmer or a cattle dealer, from quek 'living animal'. Despite the similarity in spelling, based on the geographic distribution of the surname within Germany, it is generally believed to be unrelated to the placename Queck in Hesse. [4] [5]
The 2010 United States Census found 167 people with the surname Quek, making it the 105,6700th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 127 people (124,872nd-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, about five percent of the bearers of the surname identified as non-Hispanic white, and about nine-tenths as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander. [6]
Language(s) | German, Middle English, Southern Min Chinese |
---|---|
Origin | |
Meaning |
|
Other names | |
Variant form(s) |
Quek is a Chinese, English, and German surname.
The English surname Quek is an alternative spelling of Quick, which originated from Middle English quek and earlier Old English cwic, both meaning 'lively' or 'nimble'. Quex and Quekes, toponymic surnames referring to Quex in Kent, are derived from Quek plus the English possessive marker s. [1]
As a Chinese surname, Quek is found in Southeast Asia among Overseas Chinese communities in Malaysia and in Singapore as an approximation of Southern Min pronunciations of the surname whose Standard Mandarin pronunciation is spelled in Hanyu Pinyin as Guō ( 郭). Other Southern Min-derived spellings of the same surname include Kek, Kerk, Kuek, Kweh, and Kwek. [2] [3]
The German surname Quek is a variant spelling of Queck, which is usually derived from Middle High German quec, kec, köc, koc, koch or Middle Low German kek, keck 'lively'. In some cases it may have originated as an occupational surname for a farmer or a cattle dealer, from quek 'living animal'. Despite the similarity in spelling, based on the geographic distribution of the surname within Germany, it is generally believed to be unrelated to the placename Queck in Hesse. [4] [5]
The 2010 United States Census found 167 people with the surname Quek, making it the 105,6700th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 127 people (124,872nd-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, about five percent of the bearers of the surname identified as non-Hispanic white, and about nine-tenths as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander. [6]