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

Finnerty, 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 Finnerty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Finnerty in America

Finnerty is the 8184th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Finnerty surname appeared 4,052 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 Finnerty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Finnerty 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 Finnerty

The surname Finnerty is an anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Fionnachta, derived from the personal name Fionnachta, which means "fair fighter" or "white warrior." This name originated in County Galway, Ireland, during the Middle Ages, and it is believed to have been first adopted by a descendant of the Ó Fionnachta family, a prominent clan in the region.

The earliest known record of the name Finnerty dates back to the 16th century, when it appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It is possible that the name was also mentioned in earlier documents or manuscripts, such as the Domesday Book, which recorded landowners in England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Finnerty was Seán Ó Fionnachta, who lived in County Galway in the late 16th century. He was known for his role in the Irish Confederate Wars, which took place between 1641 and 1653.

Another notable figure with the name Finnerty was Patrick Finnerty (1798-1879), an Irish-American Catholic priest and author. He was born in County Galway and later immigrated to the United States, where he served as a priest in New York and Philadelphia.

In the 19th century, the name Finnerty was associated with several prominent figures in Ireland and the United States. One of them was William Finnerty (1822-1891), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois.

Additionally, John Finnerty (1839-1909) was an Irish journalist and author who wrote extensively about Irish nationalism and the Irish struggle for independence. He was born in County Galway and later moved to the United States, where he worked as a newspaper editor and published several books.

Another notable individual with the surname Finnerty was Patrick Joseph Finnerty (1884-1958), an Irish-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Helena, Montana, from 1927 until his death in 1958.

As for place names or older spellings associated with the Finnerty surname, there is a townland called Finnerty in County Galway, which likely derived its name from the Ó Fionnachta clan. Additionally, the name has been spelled in various ways throughout history, including Finnerty, Finnertie, and Finerty.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Finnerty

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

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

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

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