How common is the surname Finlay?

2,980 people in the United States had the surname Finlay in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 103,606 Americans. It ranked 10,721st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Finlay?

Frank Finlay, British actor (1926–2016), followed by Don Finlay.

Where is the surname Finlay most common?

Wikidata records people named Finlay in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Finlay?

Finlay is /ˈfɪnli/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Finlay getting more or less common?

More common. 2,880 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,980 in 2010, up 3.5%.

What are other spellings of Finlay?

Findlay, Findley, Findlow, Finley and Finlow.

Is Finlay also a first name?

Yes. Finlay is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Finlay

A Scottish Gaelic surname, carried by 2,980 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈfɪnli/ 2 syllables Soundex F540 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Finlay is more common than 93.4% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

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

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,980 people named Finlay in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 103,606 Americans. That is up 3.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,880.

#10,721

rank among US surnames

2,980

people in 2010

1.0

per 100,000 Americans

+3.5%

change since 2000 (was #10,258)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#10,715	Reading	2,982	103,536
#10,717	Nicoletti	2,981	103,571
#10,721	Mager	2,980	103,606
#10,724	Chidester	2,979	103,641
#10,726	Hennigan	2,978	103,675
#10,728	Spoon	2,977	103,710
#10,729	Lumley	2,976	103,745

Who is named Finlay

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Finlay identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Finlays

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Frank Finlay
British actor (1926–2016)
Don Finlay
British athlete and RAF officer, 1909–1970
Ethan Finlay
American soccer player, born 1990
Mervyn Finlay
Australian judge and rower (1925-2014)
Marjorie Finlay
American opera singer and TV personality, 1928–2003
Virgil Finlay
American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator (1914–1971)

Notable Finlays come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (1) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Findlay
Findley
Findlow
Finley
Finlow

Surnames that sound like Finlay

Finlay has the Soundex code F540, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F540.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Finlay come from?: Anglicized from Scottish Gaelic Fionnlagh (“fair warrior/hero”).
How common is the surname Finlay?: 2,980 people in the United States had the surname Finlay in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 103,606 Americans. It ranked 10,721st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Finlay?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Finlay identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Finlay?: Frank Finlay, British actor (1926–2016), followed by Don Finlay.
Where is the surname Finlay most common?: Wikidata records people named Finlay in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Finlay?: Finlay is /ˈfɪnli/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Finlay getting more or less common?: More common. 2,880 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,980 in 2010, up 3.5%.
What are other spellings of Finlay?: Findlay, Findley, Findlow, Finley and Finlow.
Is Finlay also a first name?: Yes. Finlay is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.