The Finch surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 30,769 people carried this name — #1,141 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,590 people counted. That is up 4% from 29,703 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Finch surname

A surname transferred from the nickname, from finch as a byname or for a catcher and seller of finches.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Finch» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the finch’.

An early record he cites: Thomas Finch, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 288 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 26 people named Finch.

Most of them — 18 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 18
Paris 4
Drôme 1
Oise 1
Bas-Rhin 1
Hauts-de-Seine 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 24 people named Finch live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Misiones.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Misiones 14
Santa Fe 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In the Nordic population registers

43 people named Finch are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 23
Finland (2026) 20

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Finch was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Hertfordshire: 30 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 333. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Hertfordshire 30
Gloucestershire 17
Worcestershire 14

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland’s registers today

Finch was recorded 20 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1147th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

131 Finch families were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 754 people lived in those households, 5.8 to a family on average. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

New York 56
Connecticut 30
Virginia 11
North Carolina 11
Pennsylvania 7
South Carolina 4
New Hampshire 3
Massachusetts 3
Vermont 2
Rhode Island 2
Maryland 2

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 240 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Finch in American newspapers,
1886–1903.

Newspaper page from Daily Yellowstone Journal carrying the name Finch
Daily Yellowstone Journal 1886-05-26
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Finch
The Butte Inter Mountain 1903-07-24
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Finch
The Butte Inter Mountain 1903-07-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,411 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Finch in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

52,414 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Finch. The most, 8,772, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 17,208
Victoria 9,661
Queensland 8,821
South Australia 8,556
Western Australia 5,680
Tasmania 2,082
ACT (Canberra) 245
Northern Territory 51

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Finch.

Who carried it

People named Finch,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edward Finch
    Edward Finch d. 1641 · writer
  • Essex Finch
    Essex Finch d. 1721
  • Thomas Finch d. 1563 · politician
  • William Finch d. 1726 · politician
  • Francis Finch d. 1874 · politician
  • John Finch d. 1642 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Finch,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States2,901 records

2,901 records of the Finch name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,112
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 490
  • Other U.S. records 1,299
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jhalma L. Finch

    Born 1916 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1942 at New Orleans, Louisiana; filling station attendant. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Biloxi National Cemetery, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Alphonso Finch

    Born 1908. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; secondary school teacher. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at New Bern National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edward A. Finch

    Born 1931; from Cattaraugus County, New York. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 2,901 records for Finch in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia1,561 records

1,561 records of the Finch name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 622
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 291
  • Other Australian records 648
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Finch

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Susan, sailing from Plymouth in 1842. Native of Shoreditch, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 27.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Finch

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Enchantress, sailing from Portsmouth in 1833. Native of Wickham St Paul, Essex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Robert Finch

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Enchantress, sailing from Portsmouth in 1833. Native of Whitechapel, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1840.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,561 records for Finch in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada120 records

120 records of the Finch name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 51
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 19
  • Other Canadian records 50
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Harry Finch

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 50; buried at Sambro.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Finch

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the N Scotian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Walter Finch

    Buried in 1964 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 69.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 120 records for Finch in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom86 records

86 records of the Finch name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 69
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 14
  • Other British records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Finch

    Buried in 1994 at Fintry Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 72.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Kate Hamilton Finch

    Will proved in 1937; of Westbury.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. H. Finch

    Gunner, Royal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 86 records for Finch in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand16 records

16 records of the Finch name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 10
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 2
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Dorothy Susan Finch

    Died 1978, aged 74; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Mary Finch

    Died 1985, aged 62; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Norman Finch

    Died 1986, aged 84; buried at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 16 records for Finch in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France8 records

8 records of the Finch name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Agnes Georgette Finch

    Born 1899 in Paris; died 1991 in the United Kingdom.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Eric John Finch

    Born 1909 in Chantilly; died 1983 in Méru (Oise).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Finch in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Finch name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Dixie Lee Finch

    Married in 1939 in Hilversum.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Geertruijda Catharina Finch

    Married in 1801 in Delft.

    Open Archives, Archief Delft (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Finch in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Norway2 records

2 records of the Finch name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Anders Finch

    Census of 1910: Øvre Torvgate, Drammen; "politiassistent", born 1875 in Rygge.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Finch in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Finch.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Finch is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Finch volume
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