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Quest

kwest /kwɛst/

At a glance

U.S. rank 2025
#2,390 of boy names (outside the top 1,000)
Babies in 2025
57 (<0.01% of boys)
Trend
Slipping #1,895 in 2020 to #2,390 in 2025
Peak
#1,861 in 2022
First recorded
1991

Meaning of Quest

Quest, a masculine appellation drawn directly from the English noun meaning “search” or “pursuit,” ultimately traces its lexical ancestry to the Latin verb “quaerere” (“to seek”) by way of Old French “queste”; as such, the name embodies a semantic field concerned with inquiry, perseverance, and forward motion. Within Anglo-American cultural history, the term evokes both the Arthurian Grail narratives and, more recently, the idiom of interactive storytelling and gaming, thereby positioning the bearer in conceptual proximity to ideals of existential exploration. Demographic evidence indicates that, while never approaching mass popularity, Quest has maintained a steady—albeit modest—presence in United States birth records since the early 1990s, consistently occupying ranks in the mid-700s to mid-900s and suggesting a niche but enduring appeal among parents drawn to abstract virtue or concept names. Its phonological form is concise, stress-initial, and readily articulated (/kwɛst/), qualities that enhance usability despite its unconventional status. Collectively, these linguistic, literary, and statistical factors frame Quest as a modern word-name choice that projects curiosity and determination without reliance on traditional familial or biblical precedent.

How to pronounce Quest

English

Popularity of Quest in the U.S.

Quest was the #2,390 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 57 babies. It peaked at #1,861 in 2022. It first appears in the records in 1991.

Bar and line chart: Quest in the U.S., 1991–2025. Bars: boys given the name each year, most 85 in 2022 and 57 in 2025. Line: rank among boy names, peak #1,861 in 2022, #2,390 in 2025.
  • Boys named Quest (left scale)
  • Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
By year, 1991–2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Year-by-year table, 1991⁠–⁠2025 35 rows
Quest: babies and rank among boy names in the U.S. by year
YearBabiesRankvs previous year
2025572,390▼ 270
2024702,120▼ 245
2023841,875▼ 14
2022851,861▲ 103
2021761,964▼ 69
2020781,895▲ 167
2019702,062▲ 484
2018502,546▲ 126
2017462,672▲ 558
2016353,230▲ 545
2015283,775▼ 243
2014303,532▲ 1,272
2013194,804▲ 678
2012165,482▼ 49
2011165,433▼ 1,067
2010224,366▲ 2,870
2009117,236▼ 49
2008117,187▼ 925
2007136,262▼ 737
2006155,525▼ 894
2005184,631▲ 2,905
200497,536▼ 1,278
2003116,258▲ 264
2002106,522▼ 2,680
2001213,842▼ 623
2000263,219▲ 485
1999203,704▼ 993
1998302,711▲ 1,027
1997183,738▼ 445
1996213,293▲ 400
1995173,693▲ 1,416
1994115,109▲ 1,707
199376,816▼ 1,156
199295,660▲ 859
199176,519new

Quest by state

Quest ranks #971 in Virginia (2025).

Map: Quest's 2025 rank among boy names in each U.S. state
Rank among boy names by state, 2025. Source: SSA. Download: PNG · SVG
Rank by state 5 states
Quest: rank and babies by state, 2025
StateRankBabies
Virginia9716
North Carolina1,0287
Georgia1,3505
California1,8298
Texas2,5745

Notable people named Quest

  • Quest For Fame was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1990 Epsom Derby and later major races in the United States.