Fun Facts About the Name Finis
- More than 2 thousand babies named Finis: U.S. records list 2,200 babies given the name Finis from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Finis - about 1 girl for every 439 boys.
What Does the Name Finis Mean?
Finis is a Latin word-name meaning "end," "limit," or "boundary." The Latin noun finis (plural fines) first referred to a border or boundary line, and from that concrete sense came the meanings "limit," "goal," and "end." English words such as final, finish, finite, and define come from the same root.
As a personal name it carries the literal Latin sense rather than a devotional one: it is not a saint's name or a biblical name, and it has no separate Hebrew, Greek, or Germanic origin to account for. Because the word also serves as the conventional closing word of a book or film, the name has often been understood by its bearers as a statement that something - a family line, a piece of work, a period of life - is finished.
Finis Name History & Origins
Latin finis reached English through Old French fin, and English writers used finis as a noun for "end" or "conclusion." Its most familiar appearance is typographic: scribes and early printers set FINIS at the close of a manuscript or book, and the Latin tag finis coronat opus ("the end crowns the work") was a common flourish in early printed books.
As a given name, Finis is found chiefly in the United States, where it has appeared since at least the early nineteenth century, often in the South and in families with strong church ties. Finis Ewing (1773 - 1841) was a Presbyterian minister and a founder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Later bearers include Finis James Garrett (1875 - 1956), a U.S. congressman from Tennessee and House minority leader; Finis Langdon Bates (1849 - 1923), a Memphis lawyer who wrote a book arguing that John Wilkes Booth escaped capture; Finis Jennings Dake (1902 - 1987), a Pentecostal minister and Bible commentator; and Finis Mitchell (1901 - 1995), a Wyoming outdoorsman and guidebook author.
Families have sometimes given the name to a last-born child, reading it as "the end" of the family, and this explanation is repeated in local and family histories. It describes a naming habit, not a fixed rule, and the name has also been chosen simply as a Latin word with an emphatic meaning.
How Popular is the Name Finis?
Finis recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1922. Its best rank was #435 in 1881.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | #3,833 | 5 | 0.0007% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | #13,088 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #10,141 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1995 | #9,311 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #8,101 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #8,552 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1989 | #7,289 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #6,688 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,193 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #5,211 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1980 | #4,642 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #6,380 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #3,959 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #6,177 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #4,839 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1973 | #2,762 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1972 | #2,576 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1971 | #3,219 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1970 | #4,413 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1969 | #2,750 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #2,975 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #3,077 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #4,135 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,345 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #2,720 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1963 | #2,738 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1962 | #2,565 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #2,357 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1960 | #2,586 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1959 | #2,003 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1958 | #2,125 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1957 | #2,711 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1956 | #1,962 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1955 | #2,344 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1954 | #2,068 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1953 | #1,437 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 1952 | #1,355 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1951 | #1,535 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1950 | #1,765 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1949 | #1,971 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1948 | #1,502 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 1947 | #1,461 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1946 | #1,575 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1945 | #1,425 | 22 | 0.0016% |
| 1944 | #1,093 | 37 | 0.0027% |
| 1943 | #1,289 | 29 | 0.0020% |
| 1942 | #1,282 | 30 | 0.0022% |
| 1941 | #1,138 | 34 | 0.0028% |
| 1940 | #1,192 | 32 | 0.0028% |
| 1939 | #1,430 | 22 | 0.0020% |
| 1938 | #1,377 | 24 | 0.0022% |
| 1937 | #1,079 | 36 | 0.0034% |
| 1936 | #1,036 | 38 | 0.0037% |
| 1935 | #1,048 | 38 | 0.0036% |
| 1934 | #1,368 | 25 | 0.0024% |
| 1933 | #872 | 51 | 0.0051% |
| 1932 | #943 | 48 | 0.0046% |
| 1931 | #1,082 | 39 | 0.0038% |
| 1930 | #984 | 48 | 0.0044% |
| 1929 | #1,062 | 42 | 0.0039% |
| 1928 | #1,008 | 47 | 0.0042% |
| 1927 | #1,015 | 48 | 0.0043% |
| 1926 | #935 | 53 | 0.0048% |
| 1925 | #1,001 | 47 | 0.0042% |
| 1924 | #928 | 57 | 0.0050% |
| 1923 | #1,013 | 48 | 0.0044% |
| 1922 | #802 | 70 | 0.0064% |
| 1921 | #897 | 61 | 0.0055% |
| 1920 | #924 | 56 | 0.0053% |
| 1919 | #1,039 | 43 | 0.0044% |
| 1918 | #882 | 57 | 0.0056% |
| 1917 | #939 | 47 | 0.0051% |
| 1916 | #965 | 44 | 0.0049% |
| 1915 | #986 | 41 | 0.0048% |
| 1914 | #1,008 | 31 | 0.0047% |
| 1913 | #920 | 29 | 0.0057% |
| 1912 | #707 | 37 | 0.0086% |
| 1911 | #1,000 | 12 | 0.0053% |
| 1910 | #795 | 15 | 0.0077% |
| 1909 | #862 | 12 | 0.0073% |
| 1908 | #694 | 15 | 0.0097% |
| 1907 | #835 | 11 | 0.0075% |
| 1906 | #815 | 10 | 0.0075% |
| 1905 | #807 | 10 | 0.0076% |
| 1904 | #832 | 9 | 0.0070% |
| 1903 | #1,185 | 5 | 0.0042% |
| 1902 | #1,057 | 6 | 0.0049% |
| 1901 | #615 | 12 | 0.0113% |
| 1900 | #1,219 | 6 | 0.0040% |
| 1899 | #974 | 6 | 0.0056% |
| 1898 | #1,050 | 6 | 0.0049% |
| 1897 | #697 | 10 | 0.0089% |
| 1896 | #848 | 8 | 0.0067% |
| 1895 | #713 | 10 | 0.0085% |
| 1894 | #646 | 11 | 0.0095% |
| 1893 | #861 | 7 | 0.0062% |
| 1890 | #643 | 10 | 0.0090% |
| 1889 | #509 | 14 | 0.0127% |
| 1888 | #857 | 7 | 0.0058% |
| 1887 | #561 | 11 | 0.0108% |
| 1886 | #789 | 7 | 0.0063% |
| 1885 | #663 | 9 | 0.0083% |
| 1884 | #717 | 8 | 0.0070% |
| 1883 | #831 | 6 | 0.0057% |
| 1882 | #587 | 11 | 0.0097% |
| 1881 | #435 | 16 | 0.0159% |
| 1880 | #652 | 9 | 0.0081% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Finis Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are kind, home-loving, hospitable and friendly. Since you take responsibility well, you are a good organizer of social affairs. Compassion for others is an outstanding trait. You are a great lover and a great flirt – an artist, musician, actor, teacher, nurse. Your character can be contradictory. You are practical, yet idealistic and intuitive; capable of selfless devotion to someone you love, yet look to receive payback. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Finis's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Finis's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.