Finley

Finley is a gender-neutral surname-turned-first name of Old Irish, Gaelic, and Scottish origins. An alternative to Finlay and derived from Fionnlagh, Finley is an Anglicized form of an ancient name and means "fair warrior," "white warrior," or "blessed warrior." These heroic definitions come from the root words fionn, meaning "blessed," "white," or "fair," and laogh, meaning "warrior." Today, this upbeat moniker has transcended borders, cultures, and even hair colors, as it is a trendy choice in the US and abroad.

Beginning as a boy's given name, there's some debate about whether Finley is more masculine or feminine these days, but we agree with The Bump member unamilagra's take: "I could picture it equally well on a boy or a girl." Baby Finn can also look to namesakes like American actor William Finley and Scottish musician Finley Quaye for inspiration in self-expression.

Fun Facts About the Name Finley

• Kingly Finley: Also derived from Findláech, another form of Fionnlagh, Finley can be tied to the 11th-century Scottish ruler Findláech of Moray. His greatest claim to fame is being the real-life father of Macbeth, the king immortalized (and highly fictionalized) by William Shakespeare.
• The inventor of Morse code: Finley is borne by none other than the American inventor Samuel Finley Breese Morse, famous for co-developing Morse code.
• Finley's big comeback: According to the Social Security Administration (SSA) data, Finley vanished from the US top 1000 charts from the 1920s to 2000. It made its big return for boys in 2006 and also debuted on the charts for girls around that time.