Kennedy: Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, & Inspiration

Girl name origins & meanings

Irish, Scottish : Chief with helmet

What does Kennedy mean and stand for?

The name Kennedy is of Irish and Scottish origin and means "chief with helmet" or "misshapen head." It derives from the Irish Anglicised form of Cinnéidigh. Kennedy has become quite a popular unisex name across America.

Syllables: 3

Girl name variations

Boy name origins & meanings

Gaelic : Helmeted chief

Boy name variations

Family name origins & meanings

Irish and Scottish : Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Ceannéidigh ‘descendant of Ceannéidigh’, a personal name derived from ceann ‘head’ + éidigh ‘ugly’.
Kennedy ancestral lands are found both in Ireland and in Scotland, where the family’s medieval ancestral seat is sited on the Ayrshire coast, facing the Irish Sea.

Popularity

According to Social Security Administration data, Kennedy has been consistently popular, falling slightly from the top 60, which it had been in from 2014 to 2018. Never too unpopular, Kennedy ranked 139 in 2000, which is the most unpopular it has been in two decades.

However, it is the 14th most popular name on FamilyEducation.com.

According to Google search data analysis, in the last five years Kennedy was at its peak popularity in February 2018.

Kennedy truly gained popularity with the Kennedy family, mostly John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. The name is also used for characters in Resident Evil and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is also a rather popular name for cities around the world.