From Latin 'Quintinus' meaning 'fifth,' originally given to the fifth-born child.
Quintin is a variant of Quentin, ultimately descended from the Latin Quintinus, a name derived from quintus, meaning "fifth." In ancient Rome, Quintus could mark birth order, originally given to a fifth child or one born in the fifth month. As the name passed through Latin Christian tradition into French and English, it softened into Quentin and related spellings such as Quintin.
The form with an i preserves a slightly older, more surname-like look, and in some cases reflects Scottish or family-name usage. One important historical figure is Saint Quentin, an early Christian martyr in Roman Gaul, whose cult helped spread the name in medieval France and beyond. Place-names such as Saint-Quentin kept it alive on the map as well as in the calendar.
In literature and modern culture, Quentin has had the broader spotlight, appearing in works ranging from Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury to the public career of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Quintin shares in that history while feeling just a little less common and a little more tailored. Over time, the name has moved from Roman practicality to medieval sanctity to modern sophistication.
It often carries a thoughtful, scholarly, or slightly aristocratic air, perhaps because of its clipped consonants and classical ancestry. Quintin feels more unusual than Quentin, and that variant spelling gives it extra distinction without obscuring its roots. There is a subtle literary quality to it, as if it belongs naturally to school stories, old family records, or carefully composed novels. At heart, though, it remains a simple ancient numeral transformed by centuries into something refined and memorable.