Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname than a first name.
According to John O'Donovan's 1849 works, the modern descendants of Lugaid mac Con include the O'Driscolls, O'Learys, Coffeys, Hennessys and Flynns of County Cork. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Flynns, along with the O'Coffeys, O'Dinneens, O'Driscolls, O'Heas, O'Hennessys and O'Learys, were chiefly families of the Corca Laoghdne tribe, who in turn came from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland from 500 to 100 BC.
Contents
People
Acting
Barbara Flynn (born 1948), English actress
Brandon Flynn (born 1993), American actor
Daniel Flynn (actor) (born 1961), English actor
Errol Flynn (1909–1959), Australian-American movie actor
Jerome Flynn (born 1963), English actor and singer
Jimmy Flynn (1934–2022), American actor
Joe Flynn (American actor) (1924–1974), American actor
Lara Flynn Boyle (born 1970), American actress
Miriam Flynn (born 1952), American character and voice actress
Neil Flynn (born 1960), American actor
Quinton Flynn (born 1964), American voice actor
Law
Dennis J. Flynn (born 1942), American lawyer and judge
Edmund James Flynn (1847–1927), Canadian lawyer and politician
Edward A. Flynn (born c. 1948), American law enforcement officer
William J. Flynn (1867–1928), American investigator, director of the Bureau of Investigation from 1919 to 1921
Music
Billy Flynn (musician) (born 1956), American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter
David Flynn (composer) (born 1977), Irish composer and musician
Jim Flynn (songwriter) (1938–2019), American country music songwriter
Johnny Flynn (born 1983), British actor and singer-songwriter
Matt Flynn (musician) (born 1970), American musician and record producer
Patrick Flynn (composer) (1936–2008), composer and conductor
Patti Flynn (1937–2020), jazz singer, author, radio actress, model and social activist
Robb Flynn, American musician
Politics and government
Dan Flynn (politician) (1943–2022), Texas politician
Dennis Flynn (1923–2003), Canadian politician
Edward J. Flynn (1891–1953), American politician
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890–1964), political activist
Gerald T. Flynn (1910–1990), U.S. representative from Wisconsin
John Flynn (Irish politician) (died 1968), Fianna Fáil politician from Kerry
John Flynn (New Brunswick politician) (1954–2021), Canadian bank manager and politician
John Gerrard Flynn (born 1937), former British Ambassador to Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and Angola
Marty Flynn (born 1975), American politician
Noriko Sawada Bridges Flynn (1923–2003), civil rights activist
Pádraig Flynn (born 1939), Irish politician between 1977 and 1999
Patrick Flynn (Canadian politician) (1921–1996), Canadian Liberal Party politician of Irish extraction
Paul Flynn (British politician) (1935–2019), British Labour Party MP for Newport West
Raymond Flynn (born 1939), former mayor of Boston, Massachusetts
Science, medicine and academe
Colin P. Flynn, professor at the University of Illinois
Ida M. Flynn (1942–2004), American computer scientist, textbook author, and professor
James Flynn (academic) (1934–2020), intelligence researcher in New Zealand known for discovering the Flynn effect
John Flynn (minister) (1880–1951), Minister; founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
Michael J. Flynn (born 1934), American computer scientist and inventor of Flynn's taxonomy
Sports
Alex Flynn (born 2003), American Paralympic rower
Ann Marie Flynn (1938–2021), American high jumper
Brian Flynn (baseball) (born 1990), American baseball player
Brian Flynn (footballer) (born 1955), Welsh footballer
Brian Flynn (ice hockey) (born 1988), hockey player
Charlie Flynn (born 1993), Scottish boxer
Christopher Flynn (born 1987), Welsh footballer
Daniel Flynn (cricketer) (born 1985), New Zealand cricketer
Don Flynn (1934–2010), football player
Doug Flynn (born 1951), American baseball player
Edward Flynn (boxer) (1909–1976), American boxer, gold medalist at the 1932 Olympic Games
Eddie Flynn (1919–2002), Irish soccer player
Furlong Flynn (1901–1977), American football player and aviation pioneer
George Flynn (baseball) (1871–1901), American baseball player
John Flynn (baseball) (1883–1935), American baseball player
John Flynn (footballer, born 1948), English footballer
John Flynn (rugby league), English rugby player
Writing
Bess Flynn (1886–1976), American actress and writer of radio soap operas
Daniel J. Flynn, American conservative writer
Gillian Flynn (born 1971), American writer
Greg Flynn, Australian novelist
Ian Flynn (born 1982), American comic book writer
John T. Flynn (1882–1964), American journalist and writer
Kitty Flynn (1926–2025), Irish historian and author
Michael Flynn (writer) (1947–2023), American science fiction writer
Nick Flynn (born 1960), poet and writer
Tom Flynn (author) (1955–2021), American writer and journalist
Vince Flynn (1966–2013), American writer
Other
Harry Joseph Flynn (1933–2019), American Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
John Flynn (director) (1932–2007), American film director
Michael Flynn (born 1958), retired United States Army officer, 24th National Security Advisor of the United States
Mike Flynn (radio host), American radio host
Fictional characters
Billy Flynn (Chicago), from the musical Chicago
Harry Flynn (character), a villain in the video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Helen Flynn, from the TV series Spooks
Kevin Flynn (character), a main character in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron
Mickey Flynn, in the novel Homeward Bound
Phineas, Linda, and Candace Flynn, from the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb
Sam Flynn, in the 2010 film Tron: Legacy
The Flynn family in the sitcom In with the Flynns
Flynn Rider, in Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Tangled