Finn
Originally a name for a person from Finland, though in some cases it may also reflect an old Irish byname or baptismal form.
The #1,721 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,807 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Finn has more than one possible source. In English records it could be a ethnic name meaning “a Finn,” from Old English Finnas, used for someone from Finland. In Irish contexts, it may also represent an anglicized form of Irish Mac Fhinn or related names, built on Finn, meaning “fair” or “white,” and sometimes treated as a byname or patronymic. Some shorter forms such as Phin or Phinn were also used as baptismal or nickname-based spellings.
History
Lower explicitly glosses Finn as “a native of Finland,” and notes medieval Latin forms such as Fin and Fenisc in Domesday-era records. English surname use therefore likely began as a descriptive ethnic label in some families. In Ireland and Scotland, however, Finn can also reflect Gaelic surname traditions, so modern bearers may come from different historical lines. The spelling was later stabilized in several related forms, including Finn, Finney, and Phin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same short surname can point either to a person labeled “the Finn” in medieval England or to a Gaelic family name built on the element finn, “fair/white.”
From the historical record
“equivalent to Macldnla}'. FINN. A native of Finland. A-Sax. plur. Finnas. Fin. H.R. FINNINGLEY. A parish in the cos. of York and Nottingham. FINNIS. A native of Finland ; a Fin. Ulf Fenisc occurs as a previous tenant in Domesd. in cos. Derby, Nottingham, Lin- coln, and Huntingdon, and Fin Danus (a Dane) in co. Bucks.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom