Kenneth
KEN-ith
A Scottish Gaelic name often understood as “handsome” or “gentle,” with a long association with Scottish kingship.
Meaning
The excerpted sources give two related etymologies: one says Kenneth is a Scottish/Keltic name meaning “comely,” and another says it is the English form of the Gaelic Coinneach, perhaps from caoin-neach, meaning a kind, gentle, or mild man. In broader traditional use, the name has been associated with Scottish royal history, especially Kenneth MacAlpin.
Origin
Scottish GaelicGaelicScotsmasculine
Fun fact
The name is famously tied to Kenneth MacAlpin, the early Scottish king associated with uniting the Picts and Scots.
Confidence: mixed. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.