Fionna
A feminine given name derived from the French name Fiona.
Name Census estimates that about 719 living Americans carry the first name Fionna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Fionna today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Fionna births was 2012 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Fionna. 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 Fionna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
719
~ 1 in 476,710 Americans
Peak year
2012
41 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,101
Tracked since 1971
Census
Fionna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 709 people with the first name Fionna, which placed it at #16,031 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
#16,031
National first-name rank
People counted
709
709 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fionna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fionna is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.4%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Fionna 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 Fionna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.2% · 441
- Asian and Pacific Islander13.4% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino9.7% · 69
- Black or African American7.3% · 52
- Two or more races6.3% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 7
Popularity
Fionna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Fionna from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 262 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Fionna 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 Fionna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Fionnas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Florida, Illinois recorded the most babies named Fionna, while New York, Illinois, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Fionna
The name Fionna is a feminine given name with roots in the Gaelic language. It is derived from the Gaelic word "fionn," which means "fair" or "white." The name has been in use since the Middle Ages, with some of the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Fionna was Fionna MacCumhaill, a legendary Irish warrior and hero who is said to have lived in the 3rd century AD. She is the central figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology and is often depicted as a leader of the Fianna, a group of warriors and hunters.
In the 16th century, the name Fionna gained popularity among Irish and Scottish families. One notable figure from this time was Fionna O'Donnell, who was born in 1572 and served as the Lady of Tyrconnell, a historic territory in Ulster, Ireland. She played a significant role in the Nine Years' War, a conflict between the Irish chieftains and the English crown.
In the 17th century, the name Fionna appeared in various literary works, including the poetry of Scottish writer Robert Burns. One of his poems, "Fionnaghal: A Fragment," published in 1787, features a character named Fionna.
The 19th century saw the name Fionna gain further recognition, with several notable figures bearing the name. Fionna MacLeod, born in 1855, was a Scottish writer and poet known for her works celebrating the Celtic heritage and culture. Another notable figure was Fionna Nicholson, born in 1860, who was a prominent British suffragist and campaigner for women's rights.
In the 20th century, the name Fionna continued to be used, though with varying degrees of popularity. One notable bearer of the name was Fionna Wilde, born in 1944, an Irish actress and singer who appeared in several films and television shows throughout her career.
Throughout history, the name Fionna has held a strong connection to its Gaelic roots and has been associated with concepts of fairness, purity, and beauty. While its popularity has fluctuated over time, the name has maintained a presence in various cultures and continues to be used today, carrying with it a rich legacy and cultural significance.
People
Fionna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Fionna 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
Fionna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Fionna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 719 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Fionna 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 476,710 US residents.
Is Fionna a common name?
We classify Fionna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 732 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Fionna most popular?
The single biggest year for Fionna was 2012, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Fionna is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Fionna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 709 people with the name Fionna, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,031 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 Fionna 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 Fionna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Fionna appears almost entirely female. Of the 707 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Fionna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Fionna is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (13.4%) and Hispanic (9.7%). 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 Fionna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Fionna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.2% (441 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 Fionna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Fionna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Fionna in the SSA data are female. 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 Fionna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Fionna 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 Fionna 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 have Fionna as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Fionna, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.