Finlay is a masculine given name, and also a surname. The given name is represented in Scottish Gaelic as Fionnlagh.

• Finlay Mickel, Scottish skier
• Finlay Currie (1878–1968), Scottish actor
• Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player
• Finlay Freundlich (1885–1964), astronomer
• Finlay Crisp (1917–1984), Australian academic and political scientist
• Finlay Speedie, Scottish footballer
• Finlay Jackson (1901–1941), cricketer and rugby union player
• Finlay Crerar, Royal Air Force Officer
• Finlay McNaughton Young (1852–1916), Canadian Senator
• Finlay Macdonald (minister), Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• Finlay MacDonald (musician) (born 1978), Scottish bagpiper
• Finlay MacDonald (politician, born 1866) (died 1948), Canadian Member of Parliament for Cape Breton South, Nova Scotia
• Finlay MacDonald (politician, born 1923) (died 2002), Canadian senator
• Finlay J. MacDonald, Scottish journalist
• Starsmith, British songwriter and music producer born as Finlay Dow-Smith

• Fionnla Dubh mac Gillechriosd, 15th-century Scotsman
• Fionnlagh MacCailein (died 1419), Scottish bishop
• Findláech of Moray, Macbeth's father

• Alan Gordon Finlay, (1890-1959), British engineer and inventor
• Carlos Finlay, Cuban doctor who first identified mosquitoes as a disease carrier
• Chase Finlay, New York City Ballet dancer
• Charles Coleman Finlay, American science fiction and fantasy writer
• Dave "Fit" Finlay, Northern Irish former professional wrestler
• David Finlay (VC) (1893–1916), Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross
• David Finlay (wrestler) (born 1993), German-born Northern Irish-American professional wrestler
• David White Finlay (1840–1923), Scottish physician and yachtsman
• Donald Finlay (1909–1970), British athlete
• Dr. Finlay, fictional character created by author A. J. Cronin
• Erwin Finlay-Freundlich, German astronomer and businessman
• Fergus Finlay
• Frank Finlay (1926–2016), British stage, film and television actor
• Harold John Finlay (1901–1951), New Zealand paleontologist and conchologist
• George Finlay, British historian of classical and post-classical Greece
• Graham Finlay (1936–2018), New Zealand boxer
• Ian Hamilton Finlay, Scottish poet and writer
• Jack Finlay, Irish hurler and politician
• Jack Finlay (American football), Los Angeles Rams footballer
• Jaco Finlay, Canadian settler in what is now the U.S. state of Oregon
• Katrina Finlay, fictional character of the British TV series Monarch of the Glen
• Martyn Finlay, New Zealand politician and lawyer
• Mary Lou Finlay, Canadian journalist
• Ninian Finlay, Scottish international rugby player
• Peter Warren Finlay, the birthname of Australian writer DBC Pierre
• Richard Finlay (1883–1948), Scottish footballer
• Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay
• Thomas Finlay (Cumann na nGaedheal politician) (1893–1932), Irish Cumann na nGaedhael politician and lawyer
• Thomas Finlay (judge) (1922–2017), Irish Fine Gael politician and former Supreme Court Chief Justice
• Thomas A. Finlay, Irish Catholic priest, economist, philosopher and editor
• Tom Finlay, Irish hurler
• Virgil Finlay, science fiction illustrator
• William Henry Finlay, South African astronomer