Finlay Forename

130,503rd
Most Common
name in the World

Approximately 3,059 people bear this name

Most prevalent in:
Scotland
Highest density in:
Scotland

Finlay Forename Definition:

A Gaelic name: Fionnla, Fionnlagh (misspelt Fionnladh), Middle Gaelic Finlay, Finlaeic, gen. (1467 MS.), Fionnlaoich, gen. (Duan Albanach), Early Irish Findlœch (Lib. Leinster), Finnloech and Finlaeg, gen. (Marianus Scotus). Those early forms and the Norse Finnleikr prove that the name means “Fair hero” (fionn and laoch).

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Finlay Forename Distribution

PlaceGenderIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland
100%
1,1081:4,829472
England
100%
5621:98,9383,785
China-3361:4,065,64251,317
Kenya
100%
3231:143,3666,586
Canada
67%
 
1861:178,1367,134
United States
84%
 
1791:2,025,34633,608
New Zealand-641:70,8763,426
Thailand
100%
561:1,251,17541,939
South Africa
96%
 
471:1,160,26942,094
Australia-371:369,1256,777
Ireland
94%
 
151:309,5684,642
Zimbabwe
100%
121:1,285,31841,030
Wales
100%
111:281,3014,460
India-111:110,443,4521,441,921
Hong Kong-91:861,4145,456
Northern Ireland
100%
71:263,3071,965
Malaysia
80%
 
71:4,349,991105,289
Zambia-71:2,264,97121,963
Czechia-61:1,776,0274,577
France
100%
61:11,078,39032,981
Papua New Guinea
60%
 
61:1,358,71989,225
Switzerland-51:1,642,69915,939
Venezuela
100%
51:6,040,37977,223
Malawi
100%
41:4,278,07813,569
Greece
100%
41:2,733,63712,935
Germany
100%
41:24,169,46959,466
Colombia
100%
31:15,926,30951,235
Peru
100%
21:15,895,72774,652
Sweden
50%
 
21:4,928,95452,965
Mexico
100%
21:62,072,21496,650
Philippines
100%
21:53,004,738452,678
Italy-21:30,531,04557,596
Luxembourg
100%
21:282,0243,520
Israel
100%
21:4,201,45930,777
United Arab Emirates-21:3,575,99676,635
Denmark-21:2,824,74921,465
Austria-11:8,514,20119,377
Brazil-11:214,236,154864,335
Spain-11:46,529,96535,592
Afghanistan-11:32,623,51666,536
Belarus
100%
11:9,482,38420,892
Singapore-11:6,287,05439,645
Belgium-11:11,490,04143,727
Saudi Arabia-11:30,812,56527,537
Saint Lucia
100%
11:177,8158,104
Saint Kitts and Nevis-11:54,8612,604
Qatar-11:2,369,60559,530
Panama-11:3,906,55740,800
Norway-11:5,132,32937,513
Cuba-11:11,506,55213,531
North Macedonia-11:2,090,75715,787
Haiti-11:10,726,95341,696
Grenada
100%
11:108,1254,208
Gibraltar-11:34,138985
Finland-11:5,483,18325,487
Costa Rica
100%
11:4,767,94827,206
Cyprus-11:871,0765,368

Finlay (24,909) may also be a surname.

Finlay Forename Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

A Gaelic name: Fionnla, Fionnlagh (misspelt Fionnladh), Middle Gaelic Finlay, Finlaeic, gen. (1467 MS.), Fionnlaoich, gen. (Duan Albanach), Early Irish Findlœch (Lib. Leinster), Finnloech and Finlaeg, gen. (Marianus Scotus). Those early forms and the Norse Finnleikr prove that the name means “Fair hero” (fionn and laoch). It is a popular (10th and 11th century) rendering of Finnlug, “Fair attractive one,” the older name. It has been explained as “Fair calf,” which would suit the phonetics also. Hence Finlayson, Mackinlay (M‘Fhionnlaigh).

Etymology of The Principal Gaelic National Names, Personal Names, Surnames (1909) by Alexander MacBain

Finlay Forename Popularity

Phonetically Similar Names

ForenameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Finnlay922/
Finlahy922/
Finlays921/
Finly91416/
Finla9114/
Finley833,820/
Vinlay8338/
Finlia835/
Finlly833/
Fionly833/
Finnly832/
Finlai831/
Fenlay831/
Finlas831/
Finloy831/
Finnla831/
Fionla831/
Fnla801/
Finnley7728/
Fionley773/
Phinlay771/
Fiohnly771/
Finlley771/
Finliya771/
Finleuy771/
Fenlaiy771/
Fenly73561/
Finle73137/
Fenla7358/
Vinla7349/
Fimla7315/
Finli7310/
Fnlah731/
Fnley731/
Fjnla731/
Finnella7114/
Fienlaha711/
Phienlay711/
Vienllay711/
Fenlai67707/
Vinley67220/
Fenley6769/
Finlip6755/
Finlie6721/
Phinly6711/
Finlet679/
Fenlly676/
Phinla676/
Finlee675/
Finlis673/
Fenlla672/
Vinlia672/
Vinlly672/
Finnle672/
Finlei672/
Finlou672/
Fennly672/
Fenlau671/
Fenlia671/
Finlahaja671/
Finleh671/
Finler671/
Finles671/
Finlli671/
Faenly671/
Vinlah671/
Vinlai671/
Fimley671/
Vienla671/

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Footnotes

  • First names are taken from the first part of an person's personal name. That is, not their inherited name(s), i.e. their surname(s). The first name includes particles, but not middle names
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Finlay