Finnegan
Finnegan was the 526th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 569 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 378th with 860 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 121 places. More babies were named Finnegan in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning descendant of Fionnagán ('fair') · Irish
Say it FIN-uh-gun /ˈfɪnəɡən/
- Rank in 2025
- #526 boys, down 117 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 569boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2021860 babies
- Total since 1880
- 13,115babies recorded
What does the name Finnegan mean?
Finnegan is an Irish surname from Ó Fionnagáin, "descendant of Fionnagán", according to Wiktionary. Fionnagán, Old Irish Finnacán, is a diminutive based on finn, "fair, white", the element DMNES also gives for Finlay. James Joyce's Finnegans Wake (1939), named after an Irish ballad, made the surname famous. Finnegan is a recent American boy's name.
Ó Fionnagáin (Irish, “descendant of Fionnagán”)finn (Old Irish, “fair, white”)
How sure is this? Probable. The finn element is standard; the record relies on Wiktionary for the surname form.
Related names: Finn, Finnian, Fionn.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Finnegan', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Finlay', DMNES, Durham University
- CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (cmudict), Carnegie Mellon University
Nicknames for Finnegan
The usual nicknames for Finnegan are Finn. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Finnegan in the last five years, 287 were named Finn, against 251 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finn · also for Finley | Traditional | #206 | 9,658 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Finnegans go by each one.
Finnegan popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 104 since 2009, 6 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #526 | 569 |
| 2020 | #409 | 724 |
| 2010 | #544 | 467 |
| 2000 | #1,437 | 86 |
| 1990 | — | — |
| 1980 | — | — |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Finnegan, counting every spelling?
Finnegan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #489 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #526 for Finnegan on its own. Together these spellings went to 619 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnegan | 569 | #526 | 3,363 |
| Finnigan | 50 | #2,615 | 295 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Finnegan?
569 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Finnegan (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Finnegan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Finnegan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Finnegan?
About 12,900 people born in the US named Finnegan are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 15. That makes Finnegan a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Finnegan by state
How common Finnegan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (7.4×), New Hampshire (6.9×), Montana (2.9×), Minnesota (2.4×), Wisconsin (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Alabama, Nevada, Louisiana.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Finnegan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Finnegan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Finnegan · Sibling names for Finnegan
Questions about the name Finnegan
What does Finnegan mean?
Finnegan means “descendant of Fionnagán ('fair')” (Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Finnegan?
Finnegan was the 526th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 569 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 378th with 860 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 121 places. More babies were named Finnegan in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Finnegan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Finnegan in the US.
Where is Finnegan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Finnegan was most common in Maine (2.89 per 1,000 boys), followed by New Hampshire and Vermont.