Name of the Day: Finn
He’s simple, straightforward and quite fashionable. Thanks to Kim for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Finn.
Finn appears in at least three different mythologies, but he’s popularly considered as Irish as Sean or Liam. While you’re more likely to meet a Jack or Joshua on a Belfast playground, Finn remains common, as is Fionn, the original version.
Doubtless his enduring popularity has much to do with warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill. Born Deimne, he became known as Fionn – fair – because of his light hair. Anglicized as Finn McCool, he’s known for performing the requisite heroic feats: outwitting an evil fairy, catching an enchanted fish, pursuing a maiden transformed into a deer and so on.
The most popular tale is that Finn is not dead, but merely sleeping, awaiting the call to reawaken and protect Ireland in her hour of need. Some scholars suggest that the title of James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake is a slurring of the phrase “Finn again is awake.” If that’s not enough to paint Finn shamrock green, Eber Finn and his descendants were legendary High Kings of Ireland.
Finn also appears as a minor dwarf in Old Norse mythology and as a legendary character in Frisian folklore. While the etymology of the Frisian name is lost, the Norse name Finnr is believed to stem from the Germanic finnr, which meant wanderer. Over time, it evolved to the name of Finland, and of course, the Finns themselves. (Though in Finnish, their nation is Suomi.)
The most notable American Finn was introduced as the juvenile pariah of the village … the son of the Town Drunkard. Huckleberry Finn is etched in the American imagination, headed down the Mississippi River with runaway slave Jim. While some scholars have commented on Huck’s unusual given name, we found little about his last. Whether the character gave Finn its maverick, footloose spirit or whether Twain chose the name because it suited Huck’s independent character, we’re not certain.
Finn is both quintessentially American and inescapably Irish, as are most of the longer names that a parent might choose to put on their son’s birth certificate: Finley (#794 in 2007), Finlay (unranked), Finnegan (#653) and Finbar (unranked, but used by the Kennedys.)
Another option is to borrow a page from Julia Robert’s book. 2004 starbaby Phinnaeus Walter has yet to see his given name break into the US Top 1000, but doubtless he’s part of the Finn phenomenon. (Thanks to Corinne for pointing out the correct spelling!)
Finn is charging up the popularity charts. He debuted in the US at #833 in 2000. By last year, he’d catapulted to #387. That’s a remarkably fast climb, and he shows no signs of stopping.
While Finn is now a popular character name (Matthew McConaughey played one in last year’s Fool’s Gold), we’ll mention just one more – the mascot of childhood favorite Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers. Yup, that spokesfish with the sunglasses is known as Finn, too.
Finn is a fresher choice than well-worn Gaelic favorites like Connor and Aidan, and manages to be simple and masculine without veering into caricature territory like Slade or Buck. The only downside to this name is that we suspect we’ll be meeting lots of little Finns in the near future – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Filed under: Celtic Cool, Hot Names of 2010, Last Names First, Myths & Legends, Names for Boys, Names of the Day, Starbaby | 13 Comments
Tags: Finn, Finley, Finlay, Finbar, Finnegan, Phinneas
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The goldfish is Finn because he has fins, I think.
The name Finn is … okay … I don’t hate it, but it’s a bit trendy. I think it fits with Mason and Chase. It’s in that category. (I hat Mason and Chase, though.) On the other hand, I know a girl who just had a baby girl and named her Finley Ray. I must say I prefer that name (in entirety) for a boy! I think the best incarnation is Finn on its own. No Finley, no Phinneas, just Finn. Hey, like I’m fond of saying, “At least it’s not Jayden!”
The worst thing I’ve recently seen suggested (over at Y!A) was Finnaeus.
I believe that Julia Roberts’ son’s name is spelled Phinnaeus. I remember because my daughter Vera knows a Phinaeus who was Finn before Julia Roberts’ had her twins, and Finn’s name is one ‘n’ less than Julia’s son’s.
I like Finley/Finlay more than Phineas because I think that they’re a more direct way to Finn, which I ADORE!
I like Finn a lot. It’s on our short list if we have multiple sons. I’m just not sure we’re “cool” enough to pull it off.
Corinne, you’re right! I’ve misspelled the name badly – Phinaeus is the original, and Phinnaeus is the variant chosen by J.R. Thanks for the catch – I’m correcting the post now.
Kim, I don’t think you have to be Gwen Stefani to use this one! I’m hearing it more and more – I think it is now solidly current and fashionable, but not nearly as daring as, say, Zuma or Zephyr.
Aww, Kim, Finn is cool but you don’t have to be “cool” to use him! Really!
I like Finn but would never use him myself, unless he’s a nickname, Fintan, Finbar & Phineas are all minor favorites of mine own. And I’ll second Another’s thought that Finn the fish is such because he’s got fins. I always thought it was cute. I hear Finn a lot in my neck of the woods, but checking SSA, he’s not in the top 100 for MA, so it’s just something common in my area, apparently.
He’s undeniably cool, easy on the eyes and overall, handsome. What’s not to love?
Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I only say that Finn might be too “cool” for us because the other names on our list are pretty traditional: Henry, Lewis, Matthew, James, Samuel, Simon, etc. But we’ll see. It does go well with our long surname.
I know a 4 month old baby Finn, short for Griffin. That seems to be the formal name of the moment to get to Finn. Younger brother to Hayden.
I’m not too crazy about Finn. It’s a bit abrupt on its own and I’m not crazy about any of the formal names for it. I think it’s super-fast climb through the SSA shows that it’s a very *right now* sort of name and will probably sound dated in ten or twenty years time.
I love Finn, and I really like using Griffin to get to it. The other one I really like is Sullivan, I think it sounds so jaunty. I wonder, though, if “Sully” sounds a bit tarnished…
My son’s name is Finn.. He is only 10 days old. But so far I only get good comments about his name. We have a 3 syllabol surname, which sounds alot better than if he had a short surname…. He is so cute and suits the meaning of his name, which is, ‘fair haired and complexioned’..
Emma, congrats on your baby boy! Joy to you.
Our Finn (short for Finnegan, middle name Riley) is 14 this year. He is blond with blue eyes, and fits the Irish meaning of “fair of face”. If you name your son Finn here is what you have to look forward to: My son had a preschool teacher who encouraged the other children to sing the song, “here comes old man Michael Finnegan, he has whiskers on his chin again….” My son tolerated it as well as can be expected. He thought it was a dumb song. No one ever called him Huck Finn. Kids his age aren’t even familiar with the story. So the teasing didn’t amount to a hill of beans. The girls LOVE his name. He gets told that often. The fact that the name has recently been given to several handsome men in films and tv shows has not hurt either. We are very happy with the choice. Family sometimes call him by his birth name, Finnegan, but his peers have called him Finn since early grade school.
Oh, I absolutely agree with what Tracy says! I think I must give ore thought to it as a name.I don’t consider it trendy. When I say trendy, I mean in accordance with the latest fad. I don’t think it’s use will be so prominent that it becomes trendy or a trend. I love Finley as have Blaine Finley on my list, so I think Finn is actually darling. It’s great as a nickname.Its growing on me as a full, first name