Kenna
An Irish surname, often a shortened form related to Mac Kenna or linked to Gaelic names meaning “descendant of the hound” or similar.
The #8,586 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,465 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kenna is generally treated as an Irish name, often appearing as a shortened or altered form of longer Gaelic surnames such as Mac Kenna or related names. In older scholarship it is sometimes connected with Gaelic forms built on personal names like Ó Cionnaith / Mac Cionnaith, though 19th-century writers were not always consistent in their explanations. The underlying sense is usually patronymic, referring to descent from a personal name rather than describing an occupation or place.
History
Historical surname dictionaries place Kenna chiefly in Ireland, especially in Ulster, and note that it occurs alongside forms such as MacKenna, Kennah, and Kinna. Some older authors treated it as a corruption or shortened form of larger Gaelic surnames, while later Gaelic scholarship preferred direct Irish derivations. In modern usage it remains a recognized Irish surname in both Ireland and the diaspora.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname indexes often list Kenna right beside related forms like Kenah, Kinna, and McKenna, reflecting how fluid spelling was in Irish records.
From the historical record
“MAC KENNAN. MACKENNA. KENNA. Known corruptions of Mackin- non in Ulster. MACKENZIE. 'The son of Keneth." The family boast of their descent from the great Anglo-Norman race of Fitz-Gerald in Ireland in the XII. cent. ; but Skene sajs they are of unquestionably Gaelic origin. A modern genealogist, espousing the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom