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

Finnegan, 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 Finnegan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Finnegan in America

Finnegan is the 3068th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Finnegan surname appeared 11,695 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Finnegan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Finnegan 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 Finnegan

The surname Finnegan is of Irish origin and is derived from the Gaelic name Fionnagán, which means "fair-born" or "white offspring." It is believed to have originated in County Laois, Ireland, during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Finnegan Mac Gilla Pátraic in the year 1164. This suggests that the name was well-established in Ireland by the 12th century.

The name Finnegan has also been linked to several place names in Ireland, such as Finnegan's Well in County Laois and Finnegan's Bridge in County Kildare. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the surname Finnegan who lived or owned property in those areas.

In the 17th century, a notable figure named John Finnegan (1640-1711) was a prominent Irish Catholic leader and activist who fought for the rights of Catholics during the period of the Penal Laws in Ireland.

Another notable individual with the surname Finnegan was Robert Finnegan (1840-1913), an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 17th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1897 to 1901.

In literature, the surname Finnegan is featured in James Joyce's novel "Finnegans Wake," which is a play on the name and explores the themes of dreams, language, and the cyclical nature of human existence.

Other notable individuals with the surname Finnegan include:

1. John Finnegan (1784-1854), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the first Catholic mayor of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
2. Thomas Finnegan (1925-1976), an American labor leader and president of the International Union of Operating Engineers from 1963 to 1976.
3. Mary Finnegan (1930-2017), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and television shows.
4. John Finnegan (1926-2009), an Irish writer and broadcaster who served as the head of television drama for RTÉ, the national public service media of Ireland.
5. William Finnegan (born 1952), an American writer and journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography in 2016 for his memoir "Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Finnegan

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

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

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

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