Finnay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland

Etymology of Finnay

The name Finnay originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Fiannaidhe. This name, which was Ó Feinneadha in its earlier form, refers to a soldier. 1

Early Origins of the Finnay family

Early History of the Finnay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Finnay research. Another 98 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1509, 1541, 1551, 1640 and 1678 are included under the topic Early Finnay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Finnay Spelling Variations

The spelling of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was rarely consistent. This inconsistency was due to the scribes and church officials' attempts to record orally defined names in writing. The common practice of recording names as they sounded resulted in spelling variations such as Finney, Feeney, Finnay, Finny, Fynnie, Fynney, Feenay, Feeny, Feaney, Feanay, Feany and many more.

Early Notables of the Finnay family

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

Migration of the Finnay family

Irish families began to immigrate to British North America and the United States in the 18th century, but the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. The earlier settlers came to North America after a great deal of consideration and by paying relatively high fees for their passage. These settlers were primarily drawn by the promise of land. Those later settlers that came during the 1840's were trying to escape the conditions of poverty, starvation, disease, and death that had stricken Ireland. Due to the enormity of their numbers and the late date of their arrival, these immigrants primarily became hired laborers instead of homesteading settlers like their predecessors. An exhaustive search of immigration and passenger lists has revealed many Irish immigrants North America bearing the name Finnay: Robert Finney, who purchased land in Virginia in 1716; John Finney landed in Maryland in 1774; Robert Finney settled in Virginia in 1716; Ellen Finney settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1840.