Kennedy - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó Cinnéide
Meaning: “helmeted head”
Traditional stronghold: Clare, Tipperary
Pronunciation: KEN-uh-dee; Irish O Cinneide: oh KIN-uh-jeh
History of the Kennedy name
Kennedy is thought to derive from ceann eide, meaning 'helmeted head', an epithet given to an early ancestor. The main sept were a branch of the Dal gCais, closely related to the O'Briens, and were based in Tipperary, particularly around Ormond, where they remained a leading family into the modern era. From this base the name spread through Munster and, via extensive 18th and 19th-century emigration, became one of the best-known Irish surnames in America, most famously through the family of a Wexford emigrant whose descendants included a US president.
Variants: Kenedy · O'Kennedy · Kennedie
Famous bearers of the name
- John F. Kennedy - 35th US President, great-grandson of a Wexford emigrant
- Edward Kennedy - Long-serving US Senator, brother of JFK
- Geraldine Kennedy - Former editor of the Irish Times
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Quinn · McDonnell · McMahon · Carroll · Boland · Keane