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Finnigan History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Finnigan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Finnigan family in Ireland was "O Fionnagain," derived from the word "fionn," denoting a fair-headed person.

Early Origins of the Finnigan family

The surname Finnigan was first found in counties Galway and Roscommon (Irish: Ros Comáin) located in central Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Finnigan family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Finnigan research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1405 is included under the topic Early Finnigan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Finnigan Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Finnigan include Finnegan, O'Finnegan, Finegan, O'Finegan, Finigan and many more.

Early Notables of the Finnigan family

More information is included under the topic Early Finnigan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Finnigan migration to the United States +

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Finnigan family came to North America quite early:

Finnigan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Finnigan, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 1
Hugh Finnigan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 1
James Finnigan, aged 20, who arrived in New York, NY in 1852 1
Bernard Finnigan, aged 22, who landed in New York, NY in 1852 1
Mr. Finnigan, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Finnigan migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Finnigan Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Thomas Finnigan, aged 30, a yeoman, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" from Galway, Ireland
Ann Finnigan, aged 20, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Ugoni" from Belfast, Ireland

Finnigan migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Finnigan Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Hugh Finnigan, (Finegan), (b. 1801), aged 21, Irish servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 3rd September 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1837 2
Mr. William Finnigan, English convict who was convicted in Salford, Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Henry Finnigan, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 4

Finnigan migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Finnigan Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Daniel Finnigan, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Triumph" in 1883
Ellen Finnigan, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Triumph" in 1883

Contemporary Notables of the name Finnigan (post 1700) +

Robert Emmet Finnigan (1927-2022), American pioneer in the development of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry equipment, founder of the Scientific Instruments Division of Electronic Associates, Inc., producing the first commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer in 1964
Michael Kelly "Mike" Finnigan (1945-2021), American keyboard player and vocalist, his speciality being the B3 Hammond organ, he toured with and sessioned for Jimi Hendrix, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Sam Moore, Crosby Stills and Nash and many more
Heather Candace "Candy" Finnigan (b. 1946), American professional interventionist who appears regularly in the A&E show Intervention
Mike Finnigan (b. 1945), American keyboard player and vocalist
George Joseph Finnigan (1885-1932), American Bishop in the Catholic Church
Michael E. Finnigan, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1893-94 (Kings County 17th District 1893, Kings County 6th District 1894) 5
John F. Finnigan, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Michigan State Senate 32nd District, 1902; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1924 5
James H. Finnigan, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 13th District, 1913 5
Frederick Finnigan, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Portsmouth 5th Ward, 1938 5
Simon Finnigan (b. 1981), English rugby league footballer
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html