Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish Ó Cionnaith, sometimes spelled Ó Cionnaoith. It is also a name from Waterford Cork which derives from MacKenny.
One bearer of the name was Cainnech of Aghaboe, better known in English as Saint Canice - a sixth-century Irish priest and missionary, after whom the city and county of Kilkenny is also named. The Irish form Cill Chainnigh means "church of Canice".
It is thought that the Ó Cionnaith sept was part of the Uí Maine kingdom, based in Connaught. Within this area, the name is associated traditionally with counties Galway and Roscommon.
Kenny is ranked at number 76 in the list of the most common surnames in Ireland. Other spellings include O'Kenny, Kenney, Kennie, Kinnie and Kinny.
Kenny is most often used as a diminutive form of Kenneth and Ken but it is also used as a given name.
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