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Home › Baby Names Directory › Quintessa

Quintessa

♀ Girl

Pronounced kwin-TEH-suh /kwɪnˈtɛs.ə/Medium

Meaning: Quintessa is a modern elaboration built on the Latin quintus, 'fifth', and clearly echoing quintessence, the 'fifth essence' that old philosophers thought was the purest element. It reads as a coined feminine name suggesting the fifth child or simply the finest, essential thing, with an ornate, rhythmic ending.Low

In 30 seconds: Quintessa is a coined name on Latin 'quintus', 'fifth', echoing 'quintessence'. A rare, ornate girl's name of the late nineteen-eighties (said kwin-TEH-suh).
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Origin LowLatin
MeaningQuintessa is a modern elaboration built on the Latin quintus, 'fifth', and clearly echoing quintessence, the 'fifth essence' that old philosophers thought was the purest element. It reads as a coined feminine name suggesting the fifth child or simply the finest, essential thing, with an ornate, rhythmic ending.
U.S. rank (2020)#10095 ↗ Rising
2020 U.S. births10 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1987
Total births (all-time)≈ 426

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 198719702020

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Quintessa is a graceful coinage on the Latin quintus, 'fifth', with a nod to the word quintessence. Names like it, Quintina, Quinta, marked a fifth child in older custom, but Quintessa reads more as a name chosen for its music and its hint of the essential. It rose quietly in the later twentieth century.

It stayed rare, reaching only a couple dozen girls a year around 1987 and remaining uncommon since. A girl named Quintessa then is in her thirties now.

Did you know? Quintessa echoes 'quintessence', the fifth essence old thinkers imagined as the purest element beyond earth, water, air and fire.
Overall data confidence 50%
References - Quintessa — Latin quintus 'fifth'; echoes quintessence; modern coinage

Variations

QuintinaQuintaQuintella

Nicknames

QuinnTessaTess

Famous Bearers

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If you like Quintessa…

Tessa— the bright short name tucked inside it
Quintina— a sister 'fifth' name of the same root
Contessa— a like ornate -essa name
Vanessa— a rhyming three-beat name of the era

Explore names like Quintessa

By themevintagelatinelaborated

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Quintessa mean?

Quintessa is built on the Latin 'quintus', 'fifth', and echoes the word 'quintessence'.

How do you pronounce Quintessa?

It's said kwin-TEH-suh /kwɪnˈtɛs.ə/, three syllables, stress on the middle.

Is Quintessa a boy or girl name?

Quintessa is used as a girl's name.

Is Quintessa a popular name?

No, it has always been rare, an ornate coinage seen mostly in the late nineteen-eighties.

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