How common is the surname Finnegan?

11,695 people in the United States had the surname Finnegan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,400 Americans. It ranked 3,068th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Finnegan?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Finnegan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Finnegan?

George Finnegan, boxer (1881-1913), followed by Christian Finnegan.

Where is the surname Finnegan most common?

Wikidata records people named Finnegan in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Finnegan getting more or less common?

More common. 10,740 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,695 in 2010, up 8.9%.

Is Finnegan also a first name?

Yes. Finnegan 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 Finnegan

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 11,695 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex F525 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). Finnegan is more common than 98.1% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Borrowed from Irish Ó Fionnagáin (“descendant of Fionnagán”). Fionnagán is a given name that descends from Old Irish Finnacán, which is typically anglicised as Finnegan itself.

Finnegan is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 11,695 people named Finnegan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 26,400 Americans. That is up 8.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 10,740.

#3,068

rank among US surnames

11,695

people in 2010

4.0

per 100,000 Americans

+8.9%

change since 2000 (was #3,094)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#3,059	Patten	11,730	26,321
#3,060	Harlow	11,726	26,330
#3,061	Vue	11,717	26,350
#3,062	Marx	11,716	26,352
#3,063	Sommers	11,706	26,375
#3,064	Kolb	11,705	26,377
#3,065	Morrell	11,700	26,389

Who is named Finnegan

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

95% of people named Finnegan identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.1%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Finnegans

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

George Finnegan
Boxer (1881-1913)
Christian Finnegan
American comedian, born 1973
Chris Finnegan
British boxer (1944–2009)
John Finnegan
American actor (1926-2012)
William Finnegan
American journalist, born 1952

Notable Finnegans come mostly from the United States (4) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Finigan
Finnigan

Surnames that sound like Finnegan

Finnegan has the Soundex code F525, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F525.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Finnegan come from?: Borrowed from Irish Ó Fionnagáin (“descendant of Fionnagán”). Fionnagán is a given name that descends from Old Irish Finnacán, which is typically anglicised as Finnegan itself.
How common is the surname Finnegan?: 11,695 people in the United States had the surname Finnegan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 26,400 Americans. It ranked 3,068th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Finnegan?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Finnegan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Finnegan?: George Finnegan, boxer (1881-1913), followed by Christian Finnegan.
Where is the surname Finnegan most common?: Wikidata records people named Finnegan in the United States and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Finnegan?: Finnegan is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Finnegan getting more or less common?: More common. 10,740 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 11,695 in 2010, up 8.9%.
What are other spellings of Finnegan?: Finigan and Finnigan.
Is Finnegan also a first name?: Yes. Finnegan 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.