Find out how popular the last name Findley is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Findley.

Findley, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Findley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Findley in America

Findley is the 3729th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Findley surname appeared 9,505 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Findley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Findley to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Findley

The surname Findley originates from Scotland and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Gaelic word "fionn," meaning fair or white, and the diminutive suffix "ag" or "óg," meaning little or young. The name likely referred to someone with fair hair or a pale complexion.

The earliest recorded mention of the name Findley can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. One entry lists a "Finlay de Campsie" from the village of Campsie in Stirlingshire.

In the 15th century, the Findley surname appears in the records of the Burgh of Lanark, Scotland. A certain "John Findlay" is mentioned as a merchant and burgess of the town in 1456.

The name has also been associated with the Clan Farquharson, a Scottish Highland clan from Aberdeenshire. One of the earliest recorded members of the clan was "Findla Mor," who lived in the late 12th century and is considered the progenitor of the Farquharson family.

Notable individuals with the surname Findley throughout history include:

1. Robert Findley (1721-1814), a Scottish-American pioneer and frontiersman who helped establish the first permanent settlement in West Virginia.

2. William Findley (1741-1821), an American politician and one of the founders of the Democratic-Republican Party, serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the United States House of Representatives.

3. David Findley (1813-1890), a Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the city of Findlay, Ohio, named after him and his family.

4. Jesse Findley (1867-1942), an American journalist and newspaper editor who worked for the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

5. John Van Ness Findley (1888-1964), an American lawyer and jurist who served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The surname Findley has also appeared in various place names, such as Findley Lake in New York and Findley Township in Pennsylvania, further demonstrating its historical significance and geographical spread.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Findley

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Findley.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Findley was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Findley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Findley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Findley, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!