Kenny is a
surname, a
given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
In
Ireland, the surname is an
Anglicisation of the
IrishÓ Cionnaith, also spelt Ó Cionnaoith and Ó Cionaodha, meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". It was once popular in the 16th-century in
Leinster,
Munster, parts of
Connacht and in
County Tyrone in
Ulster, and was Anglicised as O'Kenna, O'Kenny, O'Kinney, Kenna, Kenney, Kenny, and Kinney amongst other variations.[1]
One bearer of the name was
Cainnech of Aghaboe, better known in English as Saint Canice - a sixth-century Irish priest and missionary from near
Dungiven, after whom the city and county of
Kilkenny is also named. The Irish form Cill Chainnigh means "Church of Canice".
It is thought that the Ó Cionnaith sept was part of the
Uí Maine kingdom, based in
Connacht. Within this area, the name is associated traditionally with counties
Galway and
Roscommon.
Kenny is ranked at number 76 in the list of the most common surnames in Ireland.[2] Other spellings include O'Kenny, Kenney, Kennie, Kinnie and Kinny.
The given name, Kenny, is most often used as a short form of the name
Kenneth and a diminutive form of
Ken.
Given name
Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/516–600), also known as Saint Kenny, Irish saint, abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary
Kenny Adeleke (born 1983), Nigerian basketball player
Genealogies of Kenny and Lysaght by Cecil Stacpoole Kenny 1915, NLI, Dublin, Ireland
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name or the same
family name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Kenny is a
surname, a
given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
In
Ireland, the surname is an
Anglicisation of the
IrishÓ Cionnaith, also spelt Ó Cionnaoith and Ó Cionaodha, meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". It was once popular in the 16th-century in
Leinster,
Munster, parts of
Connacht and in
County Tyrone in
Ulster, and was Anglicised as O'Kenna, O'Kenny, O'Kinney, Kenna, Kenney, Kenny, and Kinney amongst other variations.[1]
One bearer of the name was
Cainnech of Aghaboe, better known in English as Saint Canice - a sixth-century Irish priest and missionary from near
Dungiven, after whom the city and county of
Kilkenny is also named. The Irish form Cill Chainnigh means "Church of Canice".
It is thought that the Ó Cionnaith sept was part of the
Uí Maine kingdom, based in
Connacht. Within this area, the name is associated traditionally with counties
Galway and
Roscommon.
Kenny is ranked at number 76 in the list of the most common surnames in Ireland.[2] Other spellings include O'Kenny, Kenney, Kennie, Kinnie and Kinny.
The given name, Kenny, is most often used as a short form of the name
Kenneth and a diminutive form of
Ken.
Given name
Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/516–600), also known as Saint Kenny, Irish saint, abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary
Kenny Adeleke (born 1983), Nigerian basketball player
Genealogies of Kenny and Lysaght by Cecil Stacpoole Kenny 1915, NLI, Dublin, Ireland
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name or the same
family name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.