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Feynman
How to Pronounce Feynman
Pronounced FINE-muhn /ˈfaɪn.mən/Medium
Meaning: Feynman is originally a German-Jewish (Ashkenazi) surname, an anglicized form of Feinmann, from the German fein, fine or refined, plus Mann, man, so literally a fine or refined man; as a first name it is given chiefly in honor of the physicist Richard Feynman.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Feynman comes from the German-Jewish surname Feinmann, built from fein, fine or refined, and Mann, man. Its rare use as an American first name is a tribute name, celebrating the celebrated physicist rather than reviving an old given name. It surfaced only faintly, touching a small high around 2015.
The name was never common, given to only about twenty boys a year even at its brief peak, and its short run fell within the twenty-tens. A boy named Feynman at that high would still be a child today. It reads as a science-minded family's homage to a beloved thinker.
Variations
Nicknames
Famous Bearers
- ★Richard Feynman (1918-1988)American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in physics, known for quantum electrodynamics
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Feynman mean?
It is a German-Jewish surname from Feinmann, meaning a fine or refined man, from fein, fine, and Mann, man.
How do you pronounce Feynman?
It is said FINE-muhn /ˈfaɪn.mən/, two syllables with the stress on the first.
Is Feynman a boy or girl name?
Feynman is recorded here as a boy's name.
How popular is Feynman?
It has always been extremely rare as a first name, given to only about twenty boys a year at its brief peak in the middle twenty-tens.