# Finlay (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/finlay/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 2,980 |
| US rank (2010) | 10,721 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 103,606 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.5% (2,880 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɪnli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Findlay, Findley, Findlow, Finley, Finlow |

## Etymology

Anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Fionnlagh (“fair warrior/hero”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Finlay in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 4.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 4.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Finlay in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Australia.

## People named Finlay

- Frank Finlay, British actor (1926–2016)
- Don Finlay, British athlete and RAF officer
- Ethan Finlay, American soccer player
- Mervyn Finlay, Australian judge and rower (1925-2014)
- Marjorie Finlay, American opera singer and TV personality
- Virgil Finlay, American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator (1914–1971)

## Similar surnames

Finley, Finnell, Fennell, Fanelli, Fenley, Familia.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.