Finley (name)
Appearance
Finley is both a surname and given name. Its meaning is of Scottish origin, from the Gaelic personal name Fionnlagh (Old Irish Findlaech), composed of the elements fionn "white", "fair" (see Finn) + laoch "warrior", "hero", which seems to have been reinforced by an Old Norse personal name composed of the elements finn "Finn" + leikr "fight", "battle", "hero".
Finley is a popular given name both in the US and the UK. In the US, it is more common for girls (it is ranked 279th most common name for boys),[1] but in the UK it is primarily a male name ranking 35th most common boy name in 2016.[2]
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
- Albert Ernest Finley (1870 –1923), Canadian physician and political figure
- Amy Finley (born 1973), American cook and writer
- Art Finley (1926—2015), American television and radio personality
- Asa Finley (1788–1853), first elected judge of Arrow Rock, Missouri, 1824
- Ben Finley broadcast journalist who is the Editorial Producer with “Anderson Cooper 360” which broadcasts on CNN
- Bob Finley (1915–1986), American baseball catcher
- Brian Finley (born 1981), Canadian ice hockey player
- Carl A. Finley (1924–2002), American minority owner of the Kansas City A's
- Chad Finley (born 1992), American professional stock car racing driver and team owner
- Charles Finley (politician) (1865–1941), U.S. Representative from Kentucky
- Charles Finley (coach) (1907–1972), college basketball coach for the Idaho Vandals, UTEP Miners, Southern Miss Golden Eagles
- Charles M. Finley (1899–1958), businessman and politician from Philadelphia
- Charlie Finley (1918–1996), businessman and Oakland Athletics owner
- Chuck Finley (born 1962), American baseball pitcher
- Clement Finley (1797–1879), 10th Surgeon General of the United States Army
- David Finley Jr. (born 1958), Northern Irish professional wrestling trainer, producer and former professional wrestler
- David E. Finley (1861–1917), United States Representative from South Carolina
- Diane Finley (born 1957), Canadian politician
- Donna Finley, American politician
- Doug Finley (1946–2013), Canadian politician and Campaign Director for the Conservative Party of Canada during 2006 and 2008 elections
- Ebenezer B. Finley (1833–1916) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio, nephew of Stephen Ross Harris
- Evelyn Finley (1916–1989), American actress and stuntwoman
- Francis Finley (1882 – c. 1943), British-born Australian rugby union player
- Frank Finley Merriam (186 –1955), the 28th governor of California from 1934 to 1939
- Gary Finley (born 1970), English former professional football central defender and non-league manager
- Gary Wade Finley Jr., American multiple time champion
- Gerald Finley (born 1960), Canadian bass-baritone opera singer
- Gerry Finley-Day (born 1947), Scottish comics writer
- Gregory Finley (born 1984), American actor
- Guy Finley (born 1949), American self-help writer, philosopher, spiritual teacher, and former professional songwriter and musician
- Holly Finale' Finley, American professional disc golfer
- Hugh F. Finley (1833–1909), U.S. Representative from Kentucky, father of Charles Finley
- James Finley (engineer) (1756–1828), American judge and bridge designer
- James Finley (minister) (1725–1795), American Presbyterian minister
- James I. Finley, American former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology in the U.S. Department of Defense
- James "John" Finley Gruber (1928–2011), American teacher and early LGBT rights activist
- James Bradley Finley (1781–1856), United States Methodist elder and minister
- Jeanne C. Finley (born 1962) American artist who works with representational media including film, photography, and video
- Jeffrey Finley (born 1991), Canadian football player
- Jermichael Finley (born 1987), American football tight end
- Jesse J. Finley (1812–1904), American member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida and the mayor of Memphis
- Joe Finley (born 1987), American ice hockey player
- John Finley (musician) (born 1945), Canadian singer/songwriter
- John Finley Williamson (1887–1964), American founder of the Westminster Choir and co-founder of Westminster Choir College
- John Huston Finley (1863–1940), American educator
- John "Jack" Lawrence Finley (1935–2006), a United States Navy aviator and astronaut
- John Park Finley (1854–1943), American meteorologist and Army officer; tornado researcher
- Jonathan Finley (born 1972), British-German physicist
- Joseph Cameron Finley (born 1987), American former child actor and molecular biologist
- Julie Finley the United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
- Karen Finley (born 1956), American performance artist
- Lucinda Finley (born 1950), American professor and attorney appellant
- Lucy Sherrard Atkinson (née Finley) (1817–1893), English explorer and author who travelled throughout Central Asia and Siberia
- Martha Finley (1828–1909), teacher, author
- Mason Finley (born 1990), American shot putter and discus thrower
- Matt Finley (born 1951), American flugelhorn player and composer of Brazilian jazz
- Michael Finley (born 1973), American basketball player
- Mike Finley (1950–2020), American writer, poet, and videographer
- Mitch Finley (born 1945), American religious writer
- Morgan M. Finley (1925–2016), American politician and businessman
- Moses I. Finley (1912–1986), American and English historian
- Otis E. Finley Sr. (1898–1979), American football coach
- Reginald Vaughn Finley Sr. (born 1974), American internet radio host and atheist
- Robert Finley (1772–1817), American academic, minister and co-organizer of the colonization movement to Liberia
- Robert Finley (musician), American blues and soul singer-songwriter and guitarist.
- Ron Finley, American fashion designer
- Ron Finley (American football), American former football coach
- Ronald Finley[ (1940–2016), American wrestler
- Ruth Finley (1920–2018), American businesswoman who was the founder and publisher of The Fashion Calendar
- Ryan Finley (businessman), American founder of SurveyMonkey, an online survey software provider
- Ryan Finley (soccer) (born 1991), American former professional soccer player
- Ryan Finley (American football) (born 1994), American football player
- Sam Finley (born 1992), English professional football midfielder
- Samuel Finley (1715–1766), American Presbyterian minister and prominent academic
- Samuel Finley Brown Morse (1885–1969), American environmental conservationist and the developer
- Samuel Finley Patterson (1799–1874), American politician, planter, and businessman
- Samuel Finley Vinton (1792–1862), American member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio
- Stephanie A. Finley (born 1966), American judge
- Steve Finley (born 1965), American baseball center fielder
- Susan G. Finley, an American researcher and the longest-serving woman in NASA
- William James Finley (1863–1912), American professional baseball player
- William Asa Finley (1839–1912), first president of Oregon State University in the United States
- William Finley (actor) (1940–2012), American actor
- William L. Finley (1876–1953), American wildlife photographer and conservationist
- William Finley (actor), American film actor
Given name
- Finley Duncan (died 1989), American singer who worked with independent record companies in Florida
- Finley Jeffrey (born 1969), also known as "Scholar" and "King Scholar", American Grenadian calypsonian, Soca Artiste and songwrite
- Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936), American writer and humorist
- Finley Lockwood (born 2008), daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Lockwood
- Finley Quaye (born 1974), Scottish musician
- William Finley Semple (1832–1923), American dentist, commonly referred to as the first person anywhere to patent a chewing gum
- Finley Olivia O’Neill (born 2014), young dancer and scholar
References
- ^ OACT. "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
- ^ Busby, Mattha; agency (2017-09-20). "Olivia and Oliver were 2016's top baby names in England and Wales". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-03-05.