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

Phinney, 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 Phinney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Phinney in America

Phinney is the 9368th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Phinney surname appeared 3,472 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 Phinney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Phinney 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 Phinney

The surname Phinney is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "fin," meaning a boundary or borderland. It likely originated in the south of England during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Phinney can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Finna" and "Finney."

The name Phinney is thought to have been initially used as a locational surname, referring to individuals who lived near a boundary or borderland area. As time passed, the name spread to different regions of England, with various spellings emerging, including Phinney, Finney, and Finny.

In the 13th century, records show a John Fynny residing in Cambridgeshire, England. Another early bearer of the name was William Fynney, who was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire in 1273.

Several notable individuals with the surname Phinney have made their mark throughout history. One such person was Samuel Phinney (1605-1683), an early settler in Massachusetts Bay Colony and a founder of the town of Barnstable. Another prominent figure was John Phinney (1770-1839), an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania.

Other notable Phinneys include Martha Phinney (1800-1890), an American educator and author, and Samuel Phinney Upham (1819-1885), a renowned American botanist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

In the 19th century, the surname Phinney gained recognition through the work of Elias Phinney (1836-1912), a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to the development of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

While the surname Phinney has its roots in England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, thanks to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Phinney

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

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

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

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