Phineas as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Phineas

What is the meaning of the name Phineas ?

The baby name Phineas is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈfɪniəs/ (FIN-ee-əs).

Phineas is Hebrew in Origin.

Phineas is the Anglicized form of Hebrew Pinchas (Pinhas, פִּינְחָס), probably from Egyptian Pa-nehasi, “the Nubian/dark-skinned,” adopted into Biblical Hebrew; folk etymologies sometimes suggest “oracle” or “serpent’s mouth,” but the Egyptian derivation is favored by scholars. In Scripture, borne by two priests: the zealous grandson of Aaron (Numbers 25) and the son of Eli (1 Samuel). The English spelling Phineas surfaced via the Septuagint/Latin Phinees and became familiar in Early Modern and Puritan England and colonial America.

Usage has been steady but modest in the Anglophone world, with 19th‑century notables Phineas Gage and showman P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum, and literary resonance from Anthony Trollope’s Phineas Finn; modern pop culture adds Phineas and Ferb. Variants and cognates include Phinehas, Phinees (Latin), Pinchas/Pinhas (Hebrew), and Yiddish Pinchos; short forms Phin and Phine are common, with Finn also sometimes used.