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Kennedy Name History

Kennedy Irish Coat of Arms

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Kennedy, alternately O'Kennedy and Kennedie, is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin that has also been used as a given name. There have been several different etymologies given for the surname. One is that the name is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Ó Ceannéidigh meaning "grandson of Ceannéidigh". Ceannéidigh is a given name derived from the Gaelic words ceann, meaning "head", and éidigh, meaning "ugly". In some etymologies, the element ceann is given as "chief" or "leader". Another possibility is that Kennedy is an Anglicisation of Ó Cinnéide, meaning "grandson of Cinnédidh" or "grandson of Cinnéidigh", with both of these personal names meaning "helmet headed.” Ceanéidigh could be related to the old Gaelic name Cennétig, which is known from Cennétig Mac Lorcáin, the father of the Irish high king Brian mac Cennétig, who himself was also known as Brian Bóruma or Brian Boru. There are also an Irish Kennedy family and a Scottish Kennedy clan of Carrick in Ayrshire, which are unrelated to one another.

Variant Spellings of the Irish surname Kennedy include Kannady, Kenardy, Kennaday, Kenneday, Kenneyday, Kennediem, MacKennedy, MacUalraig, and many more.

Our item #1760 Framed Irish Family Name History has more information on the Kennedy surname.

There is a wide selection of Kennedy coat of arms products at The Irish Rose.

Visit a Kennedy Pub in Ireland

We found at least one pub in Ireland that carries the Kennedy name. On your next trip visit  Kennedy's in Dundalk, County Louth, also known locally as the Railway Bar.

If you can't visit in person, our personalized pub gifts are the next best thing!

Notable people named Kennedy

Members of the Kennedy family of the United States of America:

Other notable Kennedys

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