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Irish surname
Ó Cinnéide · 'descendant of Cinnéididh' (helmeted-head)
Kennedy, in Ireland, is an anglicised form of Ó Cinnéide, 'descendant of Cinnéididh'. Woulfe (1923) describes at least two families: a Dál gCais family who were lords of Ormond in Tipperary from the 12th to the 16th century, and a Galway family of the Ui Maine. In Matheson's 1890 survey Kennedy was the 16th commonest surname in Ireland, about 19,900 people, and was found in every county.
Woulfe lists at least two families: (1) of Ormond, a Dál gCais branch descended from Cinnéidigh, son of Donnchuan, brother of Brian Boru, first seated at Glenomra (Killokennedy parish, east Clare), later in Upper and Lower Ormond, Tipperary, lords of Ormond 12th–16th century; (2) of Clann Cearnaigh, a Ui Maine branch in Co. Galway.[1]
O'Kennedy · O Kinedy[1]
Kennedy is also a Scottish name. Historic Environment Scotland says Culzean, in Ayrshire, 'has been associated with the Kennedy family since the Middle Ages'; Gilbert, 4th Earl of Cassillis, gifted it to his brother Thomas Kennedy in 1569, and Archibald, the 12th Earl, later became the 1st Marquess of Ailsa. The sources opened do not link this family with the Irish Ó Cinnéide.[6]
The name appears as 'O KENNEDY' in the 'List of Names of Irish Septs as given in the Book of Arms, compiled by Sir James Terry, Athlone Herald (1690)', as printed by Matheson. The list gives sept names only; it does not describe any arms, and it does not mean that everyone named Kennedy is entitled to a coat of arms.[4]
The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Kennedy surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.
Both. In Ireland Woulfe gives Kennedy as an anglicised form of Ó Cinnéide. Separately, Kennedy is a Scottish name: Historic Environment Scotland records Culzean in Ayrshire as associated with the Kennedy family, Earls of Cassillis and later Marquesses of Ailsa, since the Middle Ages. The sources opened do not connect the two.[1][6]
Woulfe gives the Irish Ó Cinnéide as 'descendant of Cinnéididh', glossed 'helmeted-head'.[1]
Woulfe places the main Ó Cinnéide family first in east Clare and then in Ormond, Co. Tipperary, with a second family in Co. Galway. In 1890 Kennedy was found in every county, with the largest numbers in Tipperary, Dublin and Antrim.[1][3]
According to Woulfe, the Ormond O'Kennedys descend from Cinnéidigh, son of Donnchuan, the brother of Brian Boru.[1]
In Matheson's survey of the 1890 Births Index, Kennedy was 16th of the hundred principal surnames, with an estimated 19,900 people.[2]
Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).
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