Finger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Israel

Etymology of Finger

What does the name Finger mean?

Surnames were reserved for exceptional individuals, people who were scholars and poets. Therefore, families began to use their surnames as a sign of prominence because of their established family name.

Although, Jews in Central and Eastern Europe went on without family names until the 13th century. 1

The name Finger comes from the Yiddish "finger" meaning "finger." The surname Fingerhut itself probably means "thimble" and was originally applied to someone who was a tailor. Most early European surnames were formed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, though the process had started somewhat earlier and continued in some regions into the 19th century. Generallly, in the tenth and eleventh centuries people did not have surnames, whereas by the fifteenth century most of the population had acquired a second name.

An early notable bearing this name was Godfrey or Gottfried Finger, (1685-1717), the composer born in Olomuc, Czechoslovakia. He emigrated to England probably about 1685. This date is fixed by the preface to his first composition, 'Sonatæ XII,' in which he says that it was the fame of James II which led him to bid farewell to his native land. The work was published in 1688, but from his calling the king 'tutissimum contra æmulos et invidos zoilos patrocinium' it may be inferred that he had at that time been long enough in England to make enemies, who no doubt resented the intrusion of a foreigner. 3

Finger Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Finger, Fingerman, Fingherman and many more.

Finger Ranking

In the United States, the name Finger is the 7,616^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Finger migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Finger Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Zacharias Finger, who landed in America in 1709 5
Peter Finger, who landed in North Carolina in 1763 5
Valentine Finger, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1772 5
Valentin Finger, who arrived in America in 1785 5

Finger Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Johannes Finger, who landed in America in 1840 5
Christina Finger, who landed in America in 1843 5
Friedrich Finger, who landed in New York, NY in 1850 5
L Finger, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Ludwig Finger, aged 23, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Finger (post 1700) +

Effie Luevertie Finger (1922-2000), née Chambers, American private in the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, first all-female, all-African-American battalion to server overseas
William J. H. Finger Jr., American politician, Mayor of Roseville, California, 1952-53 6
Mary Finger, American Democratic Party politician, Member, Platform Committee, Democratic National Convention, 2008 6
Kennith Finger, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1980 6
Allen W. Finger, American politician, Candidate for borough President of Manhattan, New York, 1973 6
Eduard "Edi" Finger Jr. (1949-2021), Austrian sports journalist who worked for Radio Wien
Godfrey Finger, Czechoslovakian composer

Historic Events for the Finger family +

USS Arizona

Mr. William R. Finger, American Signalman First Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 7

The Finger Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Vigilance
Motto Translation: Vigilant.

Sources +

Weiss, Nelly. The Origin of Jewish family names: Morphology and History. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
Weiss, Nelly. The origin of Jewish family names: morphology and history. Peter Lang AG, 2002. Digital
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html