Finis
Masculine · “the end”
Finis is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 2,195 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Finis is the Latin word for the end, and American families used it exactly as it reads. A last child, in a household that had decided it was the last child, could be given the word for the last page. It is one of the plainest pieces of naming in the whole American record.
How old is the name Finis?
Finis was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Finis alive today was born around 1929, making them about 96 years old. About 500 people named Finis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Finis most popular?
Finis peaked in 1881, reaching #431 nationally. See the whole 1881 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From finis to Finis
The story of Finis
The word reached ordinary households through printing rather than through Latin lessons. For centuries it was set at the foot of the last page of a book, alone, to mark that the text had stopped — a convention inherited from manuscripts and carried into print, so that anyone who had ever finished a book had seen it. It was never part of the text. It was the printer speaking, in a language most readers did not have, saying only that there was no more. A family taking it as a name were reaching for something they had seen at the close of every book in the house, which is a considerably more literary act than it first appears.
Meaning
the end
Ordinary Latin, a noun meaning a boundary, a limit or an end. It is the source of English finish, final and finite. Nothing has been altered on the way into use as a name; the word was taken whole.
How the name formed
- finis
- Finis
Pronouncing Finis
FY-nis
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Classical Latin would say FEE-nis; American families generally do not, and both readings appear.
Nicknames for Finis
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192161 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #431reached in 1881
- Change vs 1995
- 0.0%5 in 2009, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Finiss among us
people named Finis are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Finis sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Fin is a ready short form that sounds entirely current.
- The meaning is transparent to anyone who knows any Latin at all.
- It is genuinely one of a kind and will never be shared in a classroom.
- It means the end, which is a great deal to hand to a child who then outlives the sentiment.
- The pronunciation is not settled and strangers will guess.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Finis to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Finis? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Finis
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Finiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Finis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Finis in 2025?
- Finis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Finis with classmates?
- Finis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More F names
The most-given names starting with F, all years combined.
Frank#513 · Fred#1932 · Francis#420 · Frederick#435 · Floyd#2230 · Francisco#322 · Franklin#359 · Fernando#387
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Finis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Finis and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle