2000
#1,972
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,811
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.23
Uncommon Last name
Kenny
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic name "Ó Cionnaith," meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" (a personal name of unknown meaning).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,891 Americans carry the last name Kenny. That puts it at #2,143 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Kenny surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Kenny with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,144
Census rank
#2,143
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,474 bearers of the surname Kenny in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2143rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenny, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Kenny
The surname Kenny is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Ó Ceinneididh, meaning "descendant of Cennéidigh." The name Cennéidigh is believed to be derived from the Old Irish words "cenn" meaning "head" and "éidigh" meaning "ugly" or "misshapen." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone with a distinctive or unusual head shape.
The surname Kenny is found predominantly in counties Sligo, Mayo, and Galway in the western province of Connacht, Ireland. It is thought to have originated in the region of Conmaicne Cuile Toladh, which encompassed parts of modern-day counties Sligo and Mayo. The name is first recorded in the Annals of Ulster in the 13th century, where it appears as "O'Cennedigh."
One of the earliest known mentions of the surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which records the death of "Donnchadh O'Cennedigh" in the year 1249. Another early reference is in the Pipe Roll of Cloyne, a medieval Irish record from the late 13th century, which lists a "David O'Kenidy."
Notable individuals with the surname Kenny throughout history include:
1. James Kenny (c. 1640 - c. 1720), an Irish Jacobite soldier and poet.
2. Sir Edward Kenny (1773 - 1848), an Irish lawyer and politician who served as Lord Mayor of Dublin.
3. Thomas Joseph Kenny (1846 - 1927), an Irish-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of St. Augustine.
4. Arthur Kenny (1880 - 1952), an Irish-Canadian politician who served as the 12th Premier of Nova Scotia.
5. Patrick Kenny (1918 - 2019), an Irish hurler who played for the Dublin senior team and won three All-Ireland medals.
The surname Kenny has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Kennydale in County Sligo and Kenny's Cross in County Mayo, further reflecting the historical roots of the name in the western region of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kenny
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenny, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Kenny bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Kenny surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.3% · 14,212
- Black or African American5.5% · 913
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 543
- Two or more races3.2% · 535
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 165
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 106
Timeline
Historical Census data for Kenny
Kenny appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,429
+618 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.91
Rank movement Down 105 places
2020
#2,143
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,474
-955 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 5.51
Rank movement Down 66 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,972 | 16,811 | 6.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,077 | 17,429 | 5.91 | +618 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 105 places |
| 2020 | #2,143 | 16,474 | 5.51 | -955 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 66 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Kenny surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,077 | #2,143 | -3.2% |
| Count | 17,429 | 16,474 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 5.91 | 5.51 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Kenny bearers went from 17,429 to 16,474 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 66 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,077 to #2,143.
FAQ
Kenny surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Kenny?
Name Census estimates that about 18,891 living Americans carry the surname Kenny. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,144 residents.
How common is Kenny?
Kenny ranks #2,143 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,474 people with the surname Kenny. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,891), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Kenny.
Has Kenny become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Kenny went from 17,429 recorded bearers to 16,474. That is a decrease of 955 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,077 to #2,143.
What does the Census say about the background of Kenny?
Among Census respondents with the surname Kenny, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.3%. The next largest groups are Black (5.5%) and Hispanic (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Kenny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.3% (14,212 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Kenny appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.3%), Black (5.5%), Hispanic (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Kenny (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Kenny mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic name "Ó Cionnaith," meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" (a personal name of unknown meaning). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Kenny (5.51 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Kenny?
If you just want to know how many people are called Kenny, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.