Finley Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Finley Family History

Finley Family History

The Finley ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Finley include Findlay and Finlay. This is a personal family surname derived from the Gaelic word 'Fionnlaoch' when translated as 'fair hero' or 'fair one'. This name is often of Scottish Gaelic descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts. Examples of such are a Finlayus Clericus who witnessed a charter by Alexander filius Walteri in 1246. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired lands by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. In Ireland this name is usually of immigrant origin having been introduced into Ulster Province by settlers from Scotland during the seventeenth century. Some members of the O'Fionnghalaigh Sept of County Offaly adopted Finley as the anglicized form of their native name, as well as the more usual Fennelly.The Finley family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Finley descendants.