MEANING & HISTORY
What does Kennedy mean?
Kennedy is a surname-derived given name from an anglicized Irish Ó Cinnéidigh. The editorial source identifies the older personal name Cennétig behind that surname.
The dictionary further analyzes head-related elements, but an isolated modern phrase such as ugly head would obscure the patronymic name history and risk describing the bearer. The immediate descendant relationship is more useful. Some historical uses honor President Kennedy; this association cannot be assumed for every family choosing Kennedy as a personal name.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Kennedy, from Irish Ó Ceannéidigh.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Kennedy (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Irish Ó Cinnéidigh (ceann (“head”) + éidigh (“ugly”)) or Scottish Gaelic Ceannaideach (ceann (“head”) + aideach (“ugly”). Compare Kenneth and Irish eitigh (“refuse, reject”).
A unisex given name.; A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern American usage.; A male given name transferred from the surname.
Wiktionary: Kennedy (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Kennedy
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Ken Alfonso
Filipino actor
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
2
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Ken Alfonso, John Kennedy Nakar
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Kennedy in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Kennedy
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Kenneth♂English form of Coinneach or Cináed
- Kenken♂Repeated Ken, familiar to Kenneth or Kendrick
- Kennie♀A familiar form associated with Kenny
- Kentoy♂Kent with oy; Kenneth also a familiar-name base
- Edy·Eddie familiar-name variant
- Hedy♀Short form of Hedwig; battle and war roots
- Kean♂Irish surname-name through Kane and Ó Catháin
- Kelly♂♀English form of Irish Ceallach or Ó Ceallaigh
What rhymes with Kennedy?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Explore Kennedy further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q6389582 — Kennedy (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Ken Alfonso (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q6389582 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — John Kennedy Nakar (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q6389582 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Kennedy (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Kennedy (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — kennedy (opens in a new tab)
Consulted editorial entry, not user submissions: Irish surname Ó Cinnéidigh from Cennétig; some commemorative uses, not universal.