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Finley Family History

Finley Surname Meaning

Scottish and Irish: from the Gaelic personal name Fionnlagh (Old Irish Findlaech) from fionn ‘white fair’ (see Finn) + laoch ‘hero’ reinforced by an Old Norse name based on finn ‘Finn’ + leikr ‘fight’ or ‘hero’. The name is common in Ireland as well as Scotland.

English: habitational name from one or more lost unidentified or altered placenames so named such as Philleyholme Dorset (recorded as Finelegh in 1280) derived from Old English fīna ‘wood-pecker’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.

Also a variant of Findlow from Finlow Hill in Over Alderley Cheshire (from Old English fīn ‘heap’ + hlāw ‘mound hill’ meaning ‘heaped mound’).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Finley family from?

You can see how Finley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Finley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Finley families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 141 Finley families living in Durham. This was about 17% of all the recorded Finley's in United Kingdom. Durham had the highest population of Finley families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Finley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Finley ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Finley. 33% of Finley men worked as a General Labourer and 75% of Finley women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Finley were Window Cleaner and Unpaid Domestic Dut.

View Census Data for Finley | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    33%
  • Incapacitated
    10%
  • Dock Labourer
    10%
  • Window Cleaner
    10%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    75%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Incapacitated
    2%
  • Unpaid Domestic Dut
    2%

What Finley family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 183,000 census records available for the last name Finley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Finley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Finley

Passenger Lists

There are 14,000 immigration records available for the last name Finley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Finley immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 40,000 military records available for the last name Finley. For the veterans among your Finley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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You've only scratched the surface of Finley family history

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What is the average Finley lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Finley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1941, and highest in 1999. The average life expectancy for Finley in 1940 was 52, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Finley

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Finley ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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