This is a surname of Roman (Latin) origins. It is recorded in many forms including Fink, Fincke, Finker, Vinck, Vinker (German), Vink and Vincke (Swiss and Dutch), Finicj (Romanian), and Finch (English). It was originally an occupational name for a breeder of finches or a supplier of songbirds. Alternatively the finch is a songbird noted for his bright plumage, and in some cases at least the surname may also have originated as a nickname for a person with either a colourful personality, or for one with a beautiful singing voice. The spelling of the name as Finci although apparently recorded in Turkey and now Australia, is seemingly quite recent. It was only in 1934 that Kemel Ataturk, the founder of the modern state of Turkey, introduced the necessary legislation to compel the adoption of hereditary surnames using the Romanish alphabet. Early examples of the surname recording include: Gilbert le Finch in the Curia Regis rolls of the county of Norfolk, England, in the year 1205, whilst Walther Vinck is recorded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1225, and Johannes Finck, in Freiburg, Germany, in 1322. Frances Finch was recorded as being a dweller in "Elizabeth Cittee" in the Virginia colony of New England in the year 1620, before the arrival of the Pigrim Fathers in the same year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Godric Finc, which was dated 1049, in the "Olde English Byname Register", during the reign of King Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066. Throughout the centures, surnames have continued to "develop," often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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