Queenie
Meaning
“'queen,' an affectionate name built on the English word, from Old English cwēn; a Victorian endearment that walked onto birth certificates by itself, and a familiar Hong Kong English name, borne by actor and presenter Queenie Chu”
The story
Queenie is affection written plainly: an English pet name built on the word queen, from Old English cwēn, a Victorian endearment that walked onto birth certificates by itself. In America it has kept a small, stubborn line for more than a century, never fashionable and never gone. And the name found a second home among Hong Kong's English given names: actress and Miss Hong Kong runner-up Queenie Chu carries it on television there. Few names say their meaning this openly, and fewer wear it this lightly.
How popular is Queenie around the world?
In the United States, Queenie is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025. In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Queenie in 2017.
Queenie is on the official records of the United States, South Australia and England and Wales.
United States
on record
In the United States, Queenie is on the Social Security birth record for 2020 to 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Queenie peaked in the 1900s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 18,000 · 2017
In South Australia, 1 girl was registered as Queenie in 2017.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 45,000
In England and Wales, 13 girls named Queenie were born in 2025, ranked 2,138th among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
last on record 2021
Queenie is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
last on record 1958
Queenie is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2012
Queenie is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Ireland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
Keep exploring
The Queenie deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Queenie truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Queenie fits with your family’s names and surname.
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