Definitions for finnerty
finner·ty

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1. Finnerty

   Finnerty is a surname of Irish origin. It literally means "Fair snow". The Celtic version of the name "Finnerty" is "Fionnachta" or "O' Fionnachta"; "Fionnachta" is a composite of two Celtic words: Fionn and Sneachta; Fionn in Celtic means "fair" - as in shade of white, and Sneachta means "snow"; "Fionn-Sneachta" (i.e. "fair snow" literally - but meaning “snow-white") was a man or a woman with snow-white hair, or snow-white skin: or possibly both. It seems people of such appearance were greatly revered by the ancient Celts. Similarly for people with snow-white skin and red hair; and Queen Meave of Connacht - who the ancient Celts believed was a goddess (and not a human being) – is thought to be one such person. There is a very similar Celtic word to "Fionnachta" (which can be seen in modern Irish Language dictionaries) spelled "Fionnachtaí"; and the English meanings given are "discoverer" and "inventor". Whether or not there is any substantial relationship between the origins of these two words is not known. When Ireland came fully under English control (in the 1600s) all, or almost all, Celtic family names (and place names) were forced through a very "rough and ready, any old way will do" translation process which was highly distorting: often (and perhaps deliberately) to an extent which meant the end result was completely meaningless in all languages. In this hit-or-miss way, busy English scribes – who would have had no knowledge of Celtic languages (or very little) – quickly wrote down place names on maps, and drew up lists of tenants' names etc., based on what they heard and what was easiest for them to pronounce. Under these circumstances, Ó Fionnachta was transformed into Finnerty by one scribe, to O'Finaghty or Finaghty by another, and so on. Some of the other variations we know of include: O'Fenaghty, Fenaughty, Finaughity, Feenaghty, Fennaghty, Fennaughty, Finerty, Finnearty, O'Finnearty, Finnarty, Fennerty, Fenerty, Fenety, Fenarty, and Finnesty. Had the English scribes been more accurate then, "Ó Fionnachta" would probably have been translated to "Fairsnow", or "Snowfair". The earliest written recorded reference regarding a permanent Finnerty "birth place" appears in the "Annals of the Four Masters" (written between 1632 and 1636); and it very firmly links the Ó Fionnachta family with an ancient fortress where Donamon Castle which stands approximately 10 miles due west of Roscommon town (in the Province of Connacht). The site on which Donamon Castle now stands is believed to be one of the very oldest and longest inhabited sites in Ireland. (Since 1939 it has been home to the Irish branch of the Divine Word Missionaries community.) There are further references linking "Fionn Sneachta" kings to Ulster, Rathcrogan, and Tara. According to Annals of the Four Masters, the first "Fionn Sneachta" King of Ireland reigned from 1277 to 1257 BC.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. FINNERTY

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Finnerty is ranked #8184 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Finnerty surname appeared 4,052 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Finnerty.
   
   94.9% or 3,846 total occurrences were White.
   2.8% or 114 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.2% or 52 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.6% or 27 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.2% or 8 total occurrences were Black.
   0.1% or 5 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

How to pronounce finnerty?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say finnerty in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of finnerty in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of finnerty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of finnerty in a Sentence

1. Margaret Riley:

   Courtney Finnerty employer may be entitled to information about Courtney Finnerty vaccine status.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnerty
2. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html