# Finley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/finley/  
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) | 37,672 |
| US rank (2010) | 922 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 8,196 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.2% (36,874 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfɪnli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Variant of Finlay.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Finley 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) | 72% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Finley in the United States.

## People named Finley

- Michael Finley, American basketball player (born 1973)
- Moses I. Finley, American-born British academic and classical scholar (1912–1986)
- William Finley, American actor (1940/1942–2012)
- Mason Finley, American shot putter and discus thrower
- Cameron Finley, American actor
- Greg Finley, American actor born 1984
- Hala Finley, American actress
- Steve Finley, American baseball player
- Morris Finley, American basketball player (born 1981)
- James Finley, American civil engineer
- Tish Cyrus, American actress and producer

## Similar surnames

Finlay, Finnell, Fenley, Fennell, Fanelli, 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.