Quant


Select Quant Surname Genealogy

The English surname Quant probably derives from the old French word quointe, meaning "knowing" or "clever."  It became a nickname, given possibly to someone admired for his good sense or skill or perhaps noted for elegance and dress, and then a surname.  The English word quant gradually acquired the sense of being skilfully made and this evolved into the modern form quaint, meaning more "pleasantly unusual" or "odd." 

The Quant name in America is more likely to be of German or Dutch origin, as an alternative spelling of Quandt.  Quant/Quandt in German was also at first a nickname, from the low German quant meaning "rogue" or "prankster."   

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Quandt/Quant as surnames in Germany dates back to the 13th century and the Baltic province of Pomerania.   Its most famous bearers were Gunther Quandt, the German industrialist instrumental in the rise of the motor company BMW, and his son Herbert who saved the company in the 1960's.  These Quandts were in fact descendents of a Dutch rope-making family who had settled in Germany in the 18th century.   

England.  Quant in England appears to have been a west country surname, originating perhaps in Devon.  Forty percent of the Quants in England were living in Devon according to the 1891 census.  Some earlier Quant recordings in the county were:
  • Henry Quant of Taunton, who was deported  for his part in Monmouth's rebellion of 1685
  • John Quant of Halberton near Tiverton, who was recorded as taking the Devon oath in 1723
  • Mary Quant, who married Philip Hannabus in Halberton in 1768
  • John Quant, who married Honour Davey in Butterleigh near Tiverton in 1790
  • and John Quant, a schoolmaster in Taunton, who died there in 1811
John Quant, a convict transported to Australia, also came from the Halberton/Tiverton area.  He subsequently adopted his stepfather's name of Hannabus.

There were Quants living elsewhere in the country.  Mary Quant, the 1960's fashion icon, was born in London.  But her roots were in south Wales as her parents had come from mining families there.  Bonsall in Derbyshire recorded a John Cheadle Quant, born there in 1831, who was variously described as a piano tuner and an entertainer.

America.  In America the Quant/Quandt names are likely to be of German or Dutch origin.  The Quandt surname was a common name of Dutch origin in the Mohawk valley in upstate New York.  One Quant history in America traces the descendants of Charles Quant who had come from Germany to Ohio around 1870.
  
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Mary Quant was a fashion designer and British fashion icon in her role in introducing the miniskirt in the 1960's. 

Select Quants Today
  • 300 in the UK (most numerous in Gloucestershire)
  • 200 in America (most numerous in Florida) 

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For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.