One syllable, an Irish giant and a salmon of wisdom: a storybook for Finn

Where the name Finn comes from

Finn is the anglicised form of the Irish Fionn, from the Old Irish word find, meaning "fair", "white" or "bright". In older times it often described fair hair or a pale complexion, but over the centuries it has taken on a second sense: bright as in clear-sighted and good-hearted.

The most famous bearer is Fionn mac Cumhaill — Finn McCool in English retellings — leader of the Fianna, a band of warrior-poets. As a boy, the story goes, Fionn was told to cook the Salmon of Knowledge for an old poet who had spent years trying to catch it. He burned his thumb on the hot skin, put it in his mouth, and all the salmon's wisdom passed to him instead. Ever after, Fionn only had to touch his thumb to his lips to know what to do. The legends give him two faithful hounds, Bran and Sceolang, and a son, Oisin, who rode across the sea to Tir na nOg, the land of eternal youth. In another tale Finn is a giant who builds the Giant's Causeway on the coast of County Antrim as stepping stones across the sea to Scotland.

There's a separate, Scandinavian root too. In Old Norse, Finnr was both a personal name and the word for a person from the far north, and Finn has been used in Denmark, Norway and Germany for generations. So the same four letters arrive in Australia from two directions: Irish legend and Nordic tradition.

In Australia the name has been on a long, steady climb. Once an unusual pick, Finn has become a familiar name in classrooms and on junior sports teams, helped along by its Irish heritage, which runs deep in many Australian families, and by its easy, outdoorsy sound. Today parents also choose it as the friendly short form of longer names like Finnegan, Finley or Finnian.

There's no fixed name day for Finn in the calendar we use, so the best day to celebrate it is his birthday.

Nicknames and ways to call Finn

• Finn — The everyday form, and already short enough that most families never shorten it further. Works equally well from the sideline and at the dinner table.
• Finny — The cuddly version for little ones, bedtime, and moments when Finn needs a bit of comfort.
• Finnster — A playful, teasing nickname that tends to come from dads, older siblings and coaches.
• Fionn — The original Irish spelling, pronounced the same way. Some families with Irish roots use it on special occasions or in the middle of a full name.
• Finnegan, Finley, Finnian — The longer, more formal names Finn is often short for. Handy when he's in trouble — a full "Finnegan!" carries further than a single syllable.
• Finbar — From the Irish Fionnbharr, "fair-headed". An old-fashioned cousin of the name, sometimes used as a family joke or a grandparent's pet name.