Finley

Alykate · December 2013

What do you think of Finley for a little girl? My fiancé is Italian and has a very Italian last name so I wanted her first name to be Irish since she will be half Irish half Italian. I've only really ever heard of it in boys though... What are your thoughts?

==N== · December 2013

I'm not a fan of it on either sex but especially not on a girl.

ClaireHuxtable · December 2013

I have a friend who just named her baby girl Finley. It's fine by me.

SuperMom17 · December 2013

For me, very cutesy fartsy, doesn't age well, is not pleasant sounding, and seems incredibly trendy. It sounds to boyish to work on a girl and to girly to on a boy. Can't get on board, sorry.

strawberrytree · December 2013

I consider this a boy's name. It's a bit of a record-scratch moment for me if I see someone talking about it on a girl. Like "wait, that's a GIRL?"

Eta especially in Ireland and the UK it is considered 100% a boy's name. There are lots of great Irish girl names if you want that tie to your heritage.

GummyBear101 · December 2013

My 2nd daughter is named Finley. I love it and get compliments on it a lot.

Alykate · December 2013

Thanks guys for the input

capulet · December 2013

strawberrytree said:

I consider this a boy's name. It's a bit of a record-scratch moment for me if I see someone talking about it on a girl. Like "wait, that's a GIRL?"

Eta especially in Ireland and the UK it is considered 100% a boy's name. There are lots of great Irish girl names if you want that tie to your heritage.

This. I think if you're going to use a name to honor your Irish heritage, that's wonderful, but if it's not typically used on a girl in your family's country of origin, then I don't think using it that way is quite honoring your heritage. I mean, from what I can see, it means "white warrior," so it seems like, from the perspective of someone who's familiar with Gaelic (I'm not, just relying on behindthename here), it doesn't really suit a girl. In America we tend to dissociate names from their meanings and choose what we like based purely on sound, and while I don't always like it, it's common enough that we accept it. But I think if you're deliberately trying to honor your heritage with a name from your ethnic/national background, you should take the original meaning into account. Sorry, that's kind of convoluted, but I hope it makes sense.

Alykate · December 2013

Yes I was aware of the meaning, I am from Ireland so I know a lot of Irish girl names but none that I absolutely love. I've never met a Finley (boy or girl) living in Dublin but I'm guessing it isn't that popular in either countries. My brothers name is Fionn and he has jet black hair too which I think is pretty funny but it actually suits him very much. My fiancé likes the idea of "boyish" girl names so that's what made me think of Finley. But I am still not too sure so your comments are helping a lot! Thank you!

Alykate · December 2013

Thanks! That's probably why I've never heard it in Ireland...

Alykate · December 2013

mjreilly2 said:
I absolutely hate Finley on a girl, especially with the added fact that a lot of the boy names Americans are trying to use on girls are Irish/Welsh/Scottish boy names for some annoying reason. Grrr.

Love it on a boy.

Do you like Finola better?

allardr · December 2013

love it, on a Boy. Definitely not on a girl though.

sunshinelove1 · December 2013

I think it's really cute! I've only known girls with the name. I say go for it.

catahoulatte · December 2013

Yeah, I don't really care for it on a girl. I've met a boy Finley (4 or 5) and thought the name fit him perfectly.

bumpuser9058414 · December 2013

We had contemplated Finley/Finlay for a boy but my main issue was that I didn't think it aged well. What about Fiona? That has basically the same meaning and was on our girl list.

jnnfrrose6 · December 2013

My first thought was "oooh, like the wrestler?!?" and then I read that you're thinking about it for a girl....yeah, no good. As others have said, there are plenty of lovely Irish female names out there.