Yes this is the stuff my brain thinks about while in quarantine. You may think I'm weird yet here you are checking to see what the "Q" stands for in "Q-Tips." Your brain first goes to cotton since that's what they're made of and cotton swab is the generic name. But cotton doesn't start with a "Q" so what in the world could it be? The "Q" stands for quality. According to an article posted by Reader's Digest, there's actually an interesting story surrounding how Q-Tips got their name. Leo Gerstenzang observed his wife stick bits of cotton to toothpicks and knew she had the right idea so in 1923 he manufactured the ready to use cotton swabs. For the first three years these cotton swabs had a different name though and it's quite interesting. You can read about it in the Reader's Digest article.
One day when you get this question on Jeopardy or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, you can thank me!