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

Finklea, 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 Finklea surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Finklea in America

Finklea is the 15140th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Finklea surname appeared 1,948 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Finklea.

We can also compare 2010 data for Finklea 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 Finklea

The surname Finklea is believed to have originated in Germany, specifically in the region of Bavaria. It likely dates back to the 16th or 17th century. The name itself is thought to be derived from the German words "fink," meaning "finch," and "lehen," meaning "feud" or "fief." This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived on or held land associated with a finch or finch-related symbol.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Finklea can be found in a Bavarian land registry from the late 17th century, where a certain Jorg Finklea was listed as a landowner in the village of Schönau. There are also records of a Hans Finklea, who was a merchant in the city of Nuremberg in the early 18th century.

The name Finklea has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, such as Finckleh, Fincklea, and Finkleah. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and variations in record-keeping practices.

In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Finklea name was Johann Finklea, a German mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics. He was born in 1825 in the town of Bamberg and passed away in 1897.

Another individual of historical note was Elise Finklea, a German-born artist and painter who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was known for her vibrant landscapes and portraits, and her works were exhibited in several prestigious galleries across Europe. Elise Finklea was born in 1856 in Munich and died in 1932.

The name Finklea also has a presence in the United States, where it is believed to have been brought by German immigrants in the 19th century. One notable American figure with this surname was William Finklea, a lawyer and politician from South Carolina who served as a member of the state's House of Representatives in the late 19th century.

Another American Finklea of note was Emily Finklea, a pioneering educator and women's rights advocate who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was born in 1865 in Georgia and dedicated her life to establishing schools and advocating for equal educational opportunities for women and girls.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Finklea

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

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 Finklea 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 Finklea 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 Finklea was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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