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

Finnell, 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 Finnell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Finnell in America

Finnell is the 10150th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Finnell surname appeared 3,178 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 Finnell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Finnell 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 Finnell

The surname Finnell is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "fionn," meaning fair or white-haired. It is believed to have emerged around the 12th century in the Ulster region of Northern Ireland.

The name may have initially been used as a descriptive term to refer to an individual with fair hair or complexion. Over time, it became adopted as a hereditary surname, particularly in counties like Donegal, Antrim, and Down.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, where a "Finnell" is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1258.

The Finnell surname is also closely associated with the Gaelic clan system, having links to the ancient clans of Ulster, such as the O'Neills and the McQuillans. In the 16th century, a notable figure named Niall Finnell was a prominent member of the McQuillan clan and played a role in the clan's battles against the English forces.

As the Irish diaspora spread across the globe, the Finnell surname traveled with them. In the 17th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, many Finnells migrated to the American colonies, settling in areas like Pennsylvania and Virginia. One such individual was John Finnell, born in 1672 in County Antrim, who later became a prominent landowner in Virginia.

In the 19th century, James Finnell (1808-1889), a lawyer and politician from Kentucky, gained recognition for his involvement in the Mexican-American War and his tenure as a United States Congressman.

Other notable individuals with the surname include William Finnell (1826-1898), a Union Army officer during the American Civil War, and John Finnell (1899-1968), an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century.

The Finnell name has also been linked to various place names in Ireland, such as Finnell's Bridge in County Antrim and Finnell's Cross in County Donegal, further cementing its historical roots in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Finnell

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

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

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

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