Phinney
An English surname probably from Finney, a diminutive form of Philip or Finn.
The #9,368 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,924 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical clue is that Phinney is a variant of Finney. In turn, Finney was often treated as a pet or nickname form connected with Philip, sometimes with influence from the short form Finn/Phin. The name may therefore mean, loosely, “son of Philip” or “descendant of a man called Finn/Phin,” rather than coming from a single fixed source.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers grouped Phinney with a cluster of related English forms such as Finney, Phin, Phipps, and Phippen. The spelling is especially well known in the United States, where it appears as a relatively uncommon surname. Like many English surnames of this type, it likely spread through ordinary migration of family lines rather than from one famous bearer.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname books explicitly cross-reference Phinney to Finney, showing how fluid spelling could be before modern standardization.
From the historical record
“PHINNJ'-'^'""- PHINNEY, V. Finney. PHIPP, a dim. (assim.) form of Philip, q.v. PHIPPtN \ =, Phipp (q.v.) + the Fr. dim. PHIPPIN J suff. -«■«. PHIPPS, Phipp's (Son) \ ,, di,i«,, Ph!ii« PHIP(P)SON,Phipp'sSon j^- ^'^'PP' ^'^'''P- PHIZACKERLEY for Fa;5aokerley, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)