Findlay is a Scottish form of Fionnlagh, usually interpreted as fair-haired warrior or white hero.
Findlay descends from the Scottish Gaelic Fionnlagh (sometimes rendered Fionnladh), a compound of fionn ("white," "fair," "blessed") and laogh ("warrior" or "hero") — yielding the full meaning "fair warrior" or "white champion." The name belongs to the same Gaelic root system that produced Finn, Fiona, and Fingal, all sharing that quality of brightness and purity encoded in fionn. Fionnlagh was common in medieval Scotland and Ireland and gave rise to the Anglicized Finlay, Findlay, and Finley, which spread southward with Scottish migration over several centuries.
One notable early bearer was Findlaích mac Ruaidrí, a Scottish mormaer (regional king) who was the father of Macbeth, King of Scotland — a genealogical link that places the name at the very heart of medieval Scottish history. As a surname, Findlay accumulated Scottish and Irish-American prestige through the nineteenth century and began its crossing into given-name territory in the late twentieth century, riding the broad fashion for surname-names that includes Campbell, Fletcher, and Reid. In Scotland and Canada, Findlay retains particular vitality; in the United States it is more commonly spelled Finley, which cracked the top one hundred for boys and girls in the 2010s.
The -ay spelling preserves a slightly older, more specifically Scottish look that appeals to parents wanting genealogical authenticity. The name's phonetic brightness — two clear syllables, strong consonants, a rising then falling energy — makes it easy to call across a playground and impossible to shorten badly.