Finn
Irish name meaning "fair" or "white", derived from the Gaelic "Finn".
Name Census estimates that about 33,337 living Americans carry the first name Finn. It sits at #198 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Finn today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Finn births was 2017 (2,416 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Finn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Finn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Finn is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 415 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Finn is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 11 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
33K
~ 1 in 10,281 Americans
Peak year
2017
2,416 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#198
Tracked since 1918
Census
Finn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 24,644 people with the first name Finn, which placed it at #1,407 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,407
National first-name rank
People counted
25K
24,644 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Finn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Finn is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Finn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Finn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.2% · 21,729
- Two or more races5.4% · 1,341
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 1,204
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 256
- Black or African American0.3% · 66
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 48
Gender
Gender distribution for Finn
Finn leans heavily male at 98.8% of total registrations, but 415 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Finn as a male name
- Ranked #198 in 2024
- 1,791 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (2,381 births)
Finn as a female name
- Ranked #11,396 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (35 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Finn leans strongly male. 24,204 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 439 female bearers (1.8%).
Popularity
Finn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Finn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 17,806 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Finn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Finn 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 Finn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Finns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Finn, while Wyoming, New Mexico, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 632 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Finn
The name Finn has its origins in the Old Norse language and culture. It is derived from the Old Norse word "finna" which means "to find" or "to discover". The name was popular among the Vikings, and it was often given to children with the hope that they would grow up to be great explorers or adventurers.
In ancient Norse mythology, there was a character named Finn who was a legendary hunter and warrior. He was known for his bravery and skill in battle, and his story was passed down through generations of storytellers.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Finn comes from the 10th century, when it appeared in the Icelandic Sagas. These sagas were a collection of stories that were written down by monks and chroniclers, and they provide a valuable glimpse into the lives and traditions of the Viking people.
Throughout history, there have been many notable people who have borne the name Finn. One of the most famous was Finn MacCool, an Irish mythological hero who was said to have lived in the 3rd century AD. According to legend, Finn MacCool was a giant who was known for his strength and courage, and he was the leader of a band of warriors known as the Fianna.
Another notable figure with the name Finn was Finn Magnusson, a Norwegian king who ruled from 1035 to 1047 AD. He was known for his efforts to expand and strengthen the Norwegian kingdom, and he played a key role in the Christianization of Scandinavia.
In the 19th century, there was an Irish writer and poet named Finn O'Mahony (1825-1892) who was famous for his works in the Gaelic language. He was a staunch defender of Irish culture and tradition, and he played a key role in the Irish literary revival of the late 19th century.
Another notable figure with the name Finn was Finn Wolfhound (1888-1958), an American actor who appeared in many Hollywood films during the silent era. He was known for his rugged good looks and his ability to play tough, no-nonsense characters.
Finally, there was Finn Juhl (1912-1989), a Danish architect and furniture designer who was one of the pioneers of the Danish Modern style. His furniture designs were characterized by their clean lines and minimalist aesthetic, and they are still highly prized by collectors and design enthusiasts today.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Finn
People
Finn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Finn 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
Finn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Finn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33,337 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Finn 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 10,281 US residents.
Is Finn a common name?
We classify Finn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 33,644 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Finn most popular?
The single biggest year for Finn was 2017, when 2,416 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Finn is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Finn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 24,644 people with the name Finn, or 8.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,407 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Finn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Finn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Finn leans strongly male. 24,204 people counted with this name were male (98.2%), compared with 439 female bearers (1.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Finn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Finn is White at 88.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Hispanic (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Finn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Finn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.2% (21,729 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Finn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Finn a male name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Finn 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.
Is Finn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Finn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Finn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Finn?
Want to know how many people have the name Finn? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.