Finley
Meaning of Finley
Finley, like Finlay, is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Fionnlagh, and it is also a surname in Scotland and Ireland. The name is usually explained as 'fair warrior' or 'fair hero', from fionn, 'white' or 'fair', and laoch, 'warrior' or 'hero'.
It is pronounced FIN-lee in English and FIN-lay in Irish Gaelic, and it is given to both boys and girls. A well-known namesake is Finley Quaye, the Scottish musician who won the 1998 Brit Award for best British male solo artist.
In the U.S., Finley was still rare in 2003, when 43 babies were given the name. It then rose every year to a peak of 159th in 2017, when 1,866 babies received it. It has fallen each year since, and in 2025 it ranked 415th, with 753 babies.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as FIN-lee (/ˈfɪnli/)
Irish Gaelic
- Pronunced as Finn-lay (/'fɪn.leɪ/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Finley
| Finley Quaye is a Scottish musician whose double platinum debut blended reggae and soul and earned him the 1997 Mobo for best reggae act and the 1998 Brit Award for Best Male Solo Artist. |
| Finley Johnson Shepard was an American executive for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. |
