Fin
A Scottish diminutive of Finlay, meaning "fair-haired hero" or "white warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 238 living Americans carry the first name Fin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Fin today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fin births was 2015 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
238
~ 1 in 1,440,144 Americans
Peak year
2015
21 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,910
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Fin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fin from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 148 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Fin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Fin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fins live
Origin
Meaning and history of Fin
The name Fin is believed to have originated from the Gaelic language, which is a branch of the Celtic language family. The name is thought to derive from the Old Irish word "fionn," which means "fair" or "white," referring to someone with pale skin or light hair. This suggests that the name may have been used to describe a person's physical appearance in ancient Celtic culture.
In Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill (also known as Finn MacCool) was a legendary hunter-warrior and leader of the Fianna, a group of elite warriors in Irish folklore. He is one of the most prominent figures in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, which dates back to the 3rd century AD. The name Fionn, and its variant Finn, gained popularity due to the widespread influence of these mythological tales.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fin can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history dating back to the 12th century. The annals mention a person named "Finn mac Fáelán" who lived in the 10th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Fin or its variants, including:
1. Finn Eiríksson (c. 983-1051), an Icelandic explorer and the first European to be born in North America.
2. Finn Magnussen (1781-1847), a Norwegian philologist and pioneer in the study of Old Norse literature.
3. Finn Juhl (1912-1989), a Danish architect and furniture designer, known for his iconic chairs and interior design work.
4. Finn Arup Andersen (1914-2002), a Danish engineer and co-founder of the renowned engineering and design firm, Arup Group.
5. Finn Kalvik (1932-2017), a Norwegian cross-country skier who won two Olympic gold medals in the 1960 Winter Olympics.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who carried the name Fin or its variants. The name has been used across various cultures and time periods, reflecting its deep roots in ancient Celtic and Gaelic traditions.
People
Fin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Fin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 238 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,440,144 US residents.
Is Fin a common name?
We classify Fin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 240 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fin most popular?
The single biggest year for Fin was 2015, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fin is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Fin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.