The Finnegan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 11,695 people carried this name — #3,068 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 25,300 people counted. That is up 9% from 10,740 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Finnegan surname

Borrowed from Irish Ó Fionnagáin (“descendant of Fionnagán”). Fionnagán is a given name that descends from Old Irish Finnacán, which is typically anglicised as Finnegan itself.

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Finnegan was recorded 12 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1665th 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 print

Finnegan in American newspapers,
1905–1919.

Newspaper page from The Pensacola Journal carrying the name Finnegan
The Pensacola Journal 1910-09-11
Newspaper page from The Pensacola Journal carrying the name Finnegan
The Pensacola Journal 1919-06-16
Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Finnegan
The Courier-journal 1905-11-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 47,788 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Finnegan in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

2,684 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Finnegan. The most, 544, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 933
New South Wales 890
Queensland 391
Western Australia 230
South Australia 139
Tasmania 63
ACT (Canberra) 15
Northern Territory 8

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

Who carried it

People named Finnegan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James E. Finnegan
    James E. Finnegan 1892–1966 · lawyer
  • Terence P. Finnegan
    Terence P. Finnegan 1904–1990 · military officer
  • Edward Rowan Finnegan
    Edward Rowan Finnegan 1905–1971 · judge
  • Joseph Finnegan
    Joseph Finnegan 1905–1980 · cryptographer
  • John J. Finnegan
    John J. Finnegan 1938–2025 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 108 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Finnegan,
in the records of 5 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 States3,420 records

3,420 records of the Finnegan name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,240
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 665
  • Other U.S. records 1,515
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Edward J. Finnegan

    Born 1919 in New York. Enlisted 1940 at New York City; longshoreman from Bronx County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Born 1943; from New York, New York. U.S. Army; killed in action 1972 in Dinh Tuong, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Finnegan

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Cork, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 3,420 records for Finnegan in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia193 records

193 records of the Finnegan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 51
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 45
  • Other Australian records 97
  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 Ellen Finnegan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mary Anne, sailing from Dublin in 1840. Native of Dublin, Dublin. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1844.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Bridget Finnegan

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849. Married 1849 in Westbury, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Philip Finnegan

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Anne Royden, aged 40; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 193 records for Finnegan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Ireland87 records

87 records of the Finnegan name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Finnegan

    Died 1887, aged 64; buried at Templetogher, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Luke Finnegan

    Died 1982, aged 55; buried at Clonburn, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Finnegan

    Died 1962, aged 75; buried at Boyounagh, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 87 records for Finnegan in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County 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).

Canada18 records

18 records of the Finnegan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 12
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Other Canadian records 3
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Bernard Finnegan

    Buried in 1969 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Ellen Finnegan

    Died 1971 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 79.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jack Michael Finnegan

    Buried in 1980 at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo, Ontario.

    Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence

Showing 3 of 18 records for Finnegan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · 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. · 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Finnegan name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Finnegan

    Irish Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Finnegan

    South Lancashire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 2 of 6 records for Finnegan in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Finnegan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Finnegan 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 Finnegan volume
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