surnames.ie

Irish surname · 68th most common in 1911

Kenny

Also spelt Kenney

Kenny is usually the English form of Ó Cionaoith, 'descendant of Cionaodh', a personal name Woulfe glosses as 'fire-sprung'. Several unrelated Gaelic families bore it, one traditionally linked with Uí Maine in Galway and Roscommon. Some Kenneys instead descend from a Tudor-era family of English origin in Wexford.

Irish Ó Cionaodha / Ó Cionaoith · Ó CionaoithIrish Mac CionaoithIrish Mac Giolla ChoinnighIrish Ó Coinne
1901 census
9,473
#67 · 21 per 10,000
1911 census
9,294
#68 · 21 per 10,000
1926 census
8,634
#53 · 29 per 10,000
Most numerous
Dublin
Highest share: Longford

Language & meaning

Meaning & Irish forms

Gaelic & English (merged) Mostly Gaelic Irish, from Ó Cionaoith and a few smaller names, with an additional Kenney family of English origin settled in Wexford in the 16th century.[1][2][3]

Ó Cionaodha / Ó Cionaoith
Modern spelling: Ó Cionaoith
“descendant of Cionaodh”[1][2][4]
Woulfe's headword, which he says belonged to several separate families. Wikipedia also spells it Ó Cionnaith. Gaois gives Ó Cionaoith as the standard modern form.
Mac Cionaoith
“son of Cionaodh”[5][4]
Usually anglicised MacKenna, but Woulfe lists Kenny among its English forms too, and Gaois groups Kenny and McKenna under the same personal name.
Mac Giolla Choinnigh
“son of the servant of St Canice”[6][7]
A devotional surname honouring Cainnech (Canice, also called Kenny). Woulfe gives Kenny as one of its many English forms, alongside Kilkenny and MacElhinney.
Ó Coinne
“descendant of Coinne”[8]
An Ulster name, normally Cunny or Quinny in English. Woulfe notes that it was sometimes made Kenny.

The name is built on the personal name Cionaodh, usually explained as “fire-sprung”. Woulfe's gloss. It is a different name from Cainnech (Canice), the saint behind Mac Giolla Choinnigh, although both can end up as Kenny in English.[1][6]

Pronunciation

Kenny: KEN-ee

Place

Where the Kennys lived

How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.

Donegal: 7.3 per 10,000 (123 people) Waterford: 8.5 per 10,000 (70 people) Dublin: 33.8 per 10,000 (1,621 people) Kilkenny: 40.6 per 10,000 (305 people) Carlow: 32.2 per 10,000 (117 people) Limerick: 17.7 per 10,000 (254 people) Louth: 15.9 per 10,000 (100 people) Tipperary: 13 per 10,000 (199 people) Roscommon: 90 per 10,000 (846 people) Meath: 16.7 per 10,000 (109 people) Wicklow: 63.6 per 10,000 (387 people) Cavan: 8.3 per 10,000 (76 people) Cork: 9.3 per 10,000 (365 people) Clare: 21.3 per 10,000 (222 people) Galway: 45.4 per 10,000 (828 people) Mayo: 30.6 per 10,000 (589 people) Sligo: 16.3 per 10,000 (129 people) Leitrim: 15.7 per 10,000 (99 people) Offaly: 79.2 per 10,000 (451 people) Laois: 23.6 per 10,000 (129 people) Kildare: 38.6 per 10,000 (258 people) Kerry: 12.2 per 10,000 (195 people) Monaghan: 3.4 per 10,000 (24 people) Wexford: 49 per 10,000 (502 people) Longford: 119.3 per 10,000 (523 people) Westmeath: 37.4 per 10,000 (225 people) Tyrone: 2.5 per 10,000 (35 people) Antrim: 5 per 10,000 (240 people) Armagh: 6.8 per 10,000 (81 people) Fermanagh: 5.1 per 10,000 (31 people) Londonderry: 1 per 10,000 (14 people) Down: 4.8 per 10,000 (147 people)
fewerup to 129 per 10,000

Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.

Highest concentration · 1911

Longford

119 per 10,000

523 Kennys · 5.64× the national share

Highest share, 1911

  1. Longford 119
  2. Roscommon 90
  3. Offaly 79
  4. Wicklow 64
  5. Wexford 49
  6. Galway 45
  7. Kilkenny 41
  8. Kildare 39

Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.

County figures as a table
County190119111926Per 10k 1901Per 10k 1911Per 10k 1926
Antrim300240—75—
Armagh7481—67—
Carlow12311792333227
Cavan867659987
Clare255222243232126
Cork3693653699910
Donegal124123103777
Down104147—45—
Dublin1,3651,6211,762313435
Fermanagh4431—75—
Galway862828747454544
Kerry206195215121214
Kildare244258227403939
Kilkenny305305281414140
Laois104129137182427
Leitrim1169990171616
Limerick238254217161816
Londonderry1114—11—
Longford549523512118119129
Louth10810074171612
Mayo613589549313132
Meath124109117181719
Monaghan152419233
Offaly515451471857990
Roscommon1,0078467781009093
Sligo142129104181615
Tipperary224199210141315
Tyrone4235—33—
Waterford797057997
Westmeath245225239403742
Wexford506502561494959
Wicklow374387401626470

Local strongholds in 1911

District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Kennys made up the largest share of the population. In Ballymacward, Co. Galway, about one resident in 9 was a Kenny.

DEDCountyKennysShare
BallymacwardGalway50 11.4%
LeaOffaly30 7.6%
RossminogeWexford34 7.6%
LumcloomOffaly29 6.7%
BallydanganRoscommon53 6.3%
GallenOffaly30 6.0%
ArdamineWexford49 5.7%
CaltraghRoscommon21 5.6%

Origins

Septs & territories

Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Kenny lineages described in the sources.

A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.

Ó Cionaoith of Uí Maine

Uí Mháine (Hy Many), in east Connacht · Galway, Roscommon

Wikipedia records the view that the Ó Cionnaith sept formed part of the Uí Maine kingdom, and says the name is traditionally associated with Galway and Roscommon there. The Uí Mháine article lists Ó Cionnaith among the families descended from that dynasty. Woulfe names no territory, saying only that several distinct families carried the name.[2][9][1]

Mac Cionaoith of Truagh

barony of Truagh, north Monaghan · Monaghan

Woulfe describes this family as chiefs of Trough in north Co. Monaghan, though they were reckoned part of the southern Uí Néill. Their name is normally written MacKenna, and Wikipedia's article on the barony names the Mac Kennas as its chiefs, but Woulfe includes Kenny among the English forms.[5][10]

Mac Cionaoith of Roscommon

Co. Roscommon · Roscommon

A second Mac Cionaoith family, whom Woulfe places in Roscommon as followers of the O'Connors. He gives no further history.[5]

Ó Coinne of Uí Eachach

Uí Eachach, later around Strabane · Down, Tyrone

An Ulster family first seated in Uí Eachach in Co. Down, which Woulfe thought later moved to the Strabane district. Its usual English forms are Cunny and Quinny, but some members appear as Kenny.[8]

Kenney of Kenney's Hall and Kilclogher

Kenney's Hall and Edermine; later Kilclogher · Wexford, Galway

Not a Gaelic sept. Burke traces this family to Nicholas Kenney of Kenney's Hall and Edermine in Co. Wexford, feodary general of Ireland under Elizabeth I and James I, whom he describes as a junior member of the Kenne family of Somerset. A line of his descendants was later seated at Kilclogher, Co. Galway.[3]

The name over time

History

Fire-sprung: Ó Cionaoith

Most Irish Kennys descend from bearers of Ó Cionaoith, a surname built on the old personal name Cionaodh, which Woulfe translates as 'fire-sprung'. He stresses that it belonged to several separate families rather than a single clan. Writing of the 16th century, he found it common throughout Leinster and Munster and also in Galway, Roscommon and Tyrone. Its English spellings were just as varied: Woulfe and Wikipedia between them record O'Kenny, O'Kenna, Kenna, Kinna, Kinney, Kenney and Kenny.[1][2]

Uí Maine and the west

The best-documented Ó Cionaoith family is thought to have belonged to Uí Maine, the large east Connacht kingdom that covered much of modern Galway and part of Roscommon. Wikipedia lists Ó Cionnaith among the families of Uí Maine descent, alongside better-known names such as O'Kelly and O'Madden, and associates Kenny with Galway and Roscommon in particular. Little else about this sept is recorded in the sources used here, and Woulfe does not tie the surname to any one territory.[2][9][1]

Overlap with MacKenna

Kenny and MacKenna are closer than they look. Mac Cionaoith, 'son of Cionaodh', uses the same personal name as Ó Cionaoith, and Woulfe lists Kenny among its English forms as well as MacKenna. He records one Mac Cionaoith family as chiefs of Truagh in north Monaghan and another in Roscommon as followers of the O'Connors. In Kerry, Cork and Limerick, he adds, speech turned Mac Cionaoith into Mag Cineáith. The Gaois surname database likewise groups Kenny, Kenna and McKenna under Cionaodh.[5][4]

St Canice and other sources

Some Kennys have quite different origins. Cainnech of Aghaboe, the 6th-century saint known as Canice and also as Saint Kenny, gave his name to Kilkenny, Cill Chainnigh, 'church of Canice'. A devotional surname, Mac Giolla Choinnigh, 'son of the servant of Canice', was found in the 16th century in Roscommon, Leitrim, Donegal and Down, and Woulfe lists Kenny among its English forms. He also records the Ulster name Ó Coinne, first seated in Co. Down, being written Kenny on occasion.[7][2][6][8]

The Kenneys of Wexford and Galway

At least one Kenney family came from England. Burke's General Armory traces the Kenneys of Kilclogher, Co. Galway, to Nicholas Kenney of Kenney's Hall and Edermine in Co. Wexford, who served as feodary general of Ireland under Elizabeth I and James I. Burke calls him a junior member of the Kenne family of Somerset. Arms were recorded for Nicholas Kenney of Dublin in 1571, and later generations married into gentry families in Kildare and Meath. The spelling Kenney therefore does not on its own reveal whether a family is Gaelic or English in origin.[3]

Places linked to the name

  • Uí Mháine (Hy Many), Co. Galway — The east Connacht kingdom to which the Ó Cionnaith sept is thought to have belonged.[2][9]
  • Truagh (An Triúcha), Co. Monaghan — Barony whose chiefs were the Mac Cionaoith (MacKenna) family, a name Woulfe says was sometimes written Kenny.[5][10]
  • Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh), Co. Kilkenny — Named after St Canice, also called Saint Kenny, whose cult lies behind the surname Mac Giolla Choinnigh.[2][7][6]
  • Kenney's Hall and Edermine, Co. Wexford — Seat of Nicholas Kenney, feodary general of Ireland, ancestor of the Kenneys recorded by Burke.[3]
  • Kilclogher, Co. Galway — Later seat of the Kenney family descended from Nicholas Kenney.[3]

Everyday lives

The Kennys in the census

Who the Kennys were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.

Kennys All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Kenny bar

Religion, 1911

Catholic +19.9 points vs Ireland
Kennys 93.5%
All of Ireland 73.6%
Church of Ireland −9.0 points vs Ireland
Kennys 4.2%
All of Ireland 13.2%
Presbyterian −8.3 points vs Ireland
Kennys 1.8%
All of Ireland 10.1%
Methodist & other −2.6 points vs Ireland
Kennys 0.5%
All of Ireland 3.1%

Irish language

Spoke Irish, 1901 −2.1 points vs Ireland
Kennys 13.2%
All of Ireland 15.3%
Spoke Irish, 1911 −1.5 points vs Ireland
Kennys 12.0%
All of Ireland 13.5%
Spoke Irish, 1926 · 26 counties −3.0 points vs Ireland
Kennys 10.5%
All of Ireland 13.5%

30 Kennys spoke Irish only in 1901.

Reading & writing

Could read and write, 1901 · aged 15+ about the same as Ireland
Kennys 80.0%
All of Ireland 80.4%
Could read and write, 1911 · aged 15+ −0.9 points vs Ireland
Kennys 84.9%
All of Ireland 85.8%

Family life, 1911

Household size · 1,990 households lower than Ireland
Kennys 4.72
All of Ireland 4.83
Children born per mother · women 45–59 higher than Ireland
Kennys 6.82
All of Ireland 6.46
Children still living about the same as Ireland
Kennys 79.5%
All of Ireland 79.8%

Commonest occupations

Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.

Farmer1,893
Farmer's son915
Farmer's daughter557
Agricultural labourer355
General labourer268
Labourer256
Farm servant208
Farm labourer204
House keeper168
Domestic servant152

Born outside Ireland

1.3% of Kennys in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.

England68
United States22
Scotland17
India11
Australia & NZ2
Wales1

Median age: 24 in 1901, 26 in 1911.

Given names

First names among the Kennys

Men and boys

  1. John1,949
  2. Patrick1,568
  3. James1,319
  4. Michael1,214
  5. Thomas1,148
  6. William665
  7. Joseph354
  8. Edward322
  9. Peter289
  10. Martin250

Women and girls

  1. Mary2,367
  2. Bridget1,156
  3. Margaret821
  4. Ellen559
  5. Catherine529
  6. Annie493
  7. Anne465
  8. Kate450
  9. Elizabeth362
  10. Maggie235

All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, Michael, James, Thomas; Mary, Bridget, Margaret, Annie, Ellen.

Spellings

Spellings

This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.

Spelling190119111926Records
Kenny8,8938,9798,477Search
Kenney580315157Search

Related forms

  • Kenney — Recorded by Wikipedia as an English spelling of Ó Cionaoith; also the spelling of the Wexford family of English origin.[2][3]
  • O'Kenny — The form keeping the Ó prefix, already found in the 16th century as O Kenny.[1][2]
  • Kenna, Kinna, Kinney — Other anglicised forms of Ó Cionaoith listed by Woulfe.[1]
  • MacKenna, MacKinney — From Mac Cionaoith, a separate surname built on the same personal name.[5][4]
  • MacElhinney, Kilkenny — From Mac Giolla Choinnigh, the devotional name honouring St Canice, which also yielded some Kennys.[6]

Diaspora

The Kennys abroad

Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:

SpellingPeopleUS rank
Kenny17,4292077th
Kenney27,7591266th

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).

Heraldry

Is there a Kenny coat of arms?

Coats of arms belonged to particular families, so there is no single Kenny crest. The entries in Burke's General Armory concern the Kenney family of Nicholas Kenney, which Burke describes as a branch of Kenne of Somerset. Burke gives their arms as a shield divided gold and blue down the middle, with a fleur-de-lis between three crescents in counterchanged colours, and the motto of the Kilclogher line as 'Teneat, luceat, floreat'. The sources consulted record no arms for the Gaelic Ó Cionaoith families.[3]

Websites selling a single “Kenny family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.

People

Notable people named Kenny

  • Peter Kenney (1779–1841)
    Irish Jesuit who founded Clongowes Wood College and led the Jesuits in Ireland.
  • Elizabeth Kenny (1880–1952)
    Australian bush nurse whose controversial polio treatment shaped modern physiotherapy.
  • George Kenney (1889–1977)
    US general who commanded Allied air forces in the Southwest Pacific during the Second World War.
  • Henry Kenny (1913–1975)
    Mayo Gaelic footballer and Fine Gael TD, father of Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
  • Bill Kenny (1914–1978)
    American singer, best known as lead tenor of the vocal group the Ink Spots.
  • Anthony Kenny (1931–2026)
    British philosopher of mind and religion and a leading Wittgenstein scholar.
  • Sean Kenny (1932–1973)
    Irish stage designer who created the sets for Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!
  • Mary Kenny (born 1944)
    Journalist and playwright, a founder of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement.
  • Pat Kenny (born 1948)
    Irish broadcaster who spent four decades at RTÉ before moving to Newstalk.
  • Enda Kenny (born 1951)
    Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017 and Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017.
  • Jason Kenney (born 1968)
    Canadian politician who was premier of Alberta from 2019 to 2022.
  • Jason Kenny (born 1988)
    English track cyclist with seven Olympic gold medals, a British record.

Questions

Questions about the Kenny name

Is Kenny an Irish surname?

Yes, in most cases. Kenny is chiefly an English form of the Gaelic Ó Cionaoith, 'descendant of Cionaodh', a name Woulfe found across Leinster, Munster, Galway, Roscommon and Tyrone in the 16th century. A smaller number of Kennys come from other Irish names, and one Kenney family settled in Wexford under the Tudors traced itself to Somerset in England.[1][2][3]

What is Kenny in Irish?

The usual Irish form is Ó Cionaoith, which Woulfe also writes Ó Cionaodha and Wikipedia gives as Ó Cionnaith. It means 'descendant of Cionaodh'. Less often, Kenny stands for Mac Cionaoith (more familiar as MacKenna), for the devotional name Mac Giolla Choinnigh, or for the Ulster name Ó Coinne.[4][1][2][5][6][8]

What does the name Kenny mean?

As a surname it means 'descendant of Cionaodh'. Woulfe interprets Cionaodh as 'fire-sprung'. Where Kenny comes instead from Mac Giolla Choinnigh, the meaning is 'son of the servant of St Canice', a saint who was also known as Kenny and who gave his name to Kilkenny.[1][6][7]

Are Kenny and Kenney the same name?

Often. Wikipedia lists Kenney as one of the English spellings of Ó Cionaoith, along with Kenny, Kenna and Kinney. But Burke records a distinct Kenney family in Wexford and Galway descended from Nicholas Kenney, a Tudor official he links to the Kenne family of Somerset. Spelling alone cannot tell you which origin a family has.[2][3]

Are Kenny and McKenna related?

They can be. Both names are built on the personal name Cionaodh: Ó Cionaoith means 'descendant' and Mac Cionaoith 'son' of a man of that name. Woulfe includes Kenny among the English forms of Mac Cionaoith, the surname of the MacKenna chiefs of Truagh in Monaghan, and Gaois groups Kenny and McKenna together. Most Kennys, though, descend from Ó Cionaoith.[5][4][10]

How do you pronounce Kenny?

It is said 'KEN-ee', with the stress on the first syllable; Wiktionary transcribes it /ˈkɛni/. Kenney is pronounced the same way.[11]

Is there a Kenny family crest or coat of arms?

Not one belonging to everyone called Kenny. Burke's General Armory records arms for the Kenney family descended from Nicholas Kenney of Wexford and Dublin, with the motto 'Teneat, luceat, floreat', and for its Kilclogher, Co. Galway, branch. No arms are recorded in these sources for the Gaelic Ó Cionaoith families.[3]

Where in Ireland is the Kenny surname most common?

In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Kennys lived in Dublin (1,621), Roscommon (846), Galway (828). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Longford (119 per 10,000), Roscommon (90 per 10,000), Offaly (79 per 10,000).

How common was the Kenny surname in Ireland?

9,294 people were recorded as Kenny or Kenney in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 68th most common surname. That is roughly 0.2% of the population, or 1 person in 472.

Looking for a Kenny ancestor?

Search every Kenny household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.

Search records on irishcensus.com

Evidence

Sources

  1. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Cionaodha, Ó Cionaoith, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  2. Wikipedia, Kenny (2026)
  3. Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). Entries 'Kenney', including Kenney of Kilclogher, co. Galway.
  4. Gaois, Dublin City University, Sloinnte: Irish surnames database (cluster 'Cionaodh') (2022)
  5. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Cionaodha, Mac Cionaoith, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  6. Patrick Woulfe, Mac Giolla Choinnigh, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  7. Wikipedia, Cainnech of Aghaboe (2026)
  8. Patrick Woulfe, Ó Coinne, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
  9. Wikipedia, Uí Mháine (2026)
  10. Wikipedia, Trough (barony) (2026)
  11. Wiktionary, Kenny (2026)
  12. Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.

How we compile these figures: methodology.