Kenna

What Kenna means

Means “descendant of Cionaodh”

As a Manx and Irish surname, from Ó Cionaodha / Ó Cionaoith (“descendant of Cionaodh”), a name usually Anglicized as Kenneth.

Source: Wiktionary, “Kenna” (revision 89808795), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Kenna?

US: Falling: down from #677 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #4103 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2022, when 430 girls got the name (#678 that year). First in the US records in 1924.

How common

• About 1 in 4,502 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 84,427 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 4,473 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in IA (1.19 per 1,000 girls), OK (0.61 per 1,000 girls), WI (0.49 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Kenna is #759 in the US and #5927 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.6% of US babies named Kenna were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Kenni17 US
• Kina14 US
• Kena13 US
• Kana12 US
• Kanna10 US
• Keni7 US
• Kona7 US
• Keina6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Kenna

Girls

• Teagan#340Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1979, with 6 babies
• Rory#230“red-haired king”^*
• Rowan#249“little red one”^*
• Gwen#725Same root as Wendy, meaning “watercourse with a bend + island”^*
• Alayna#332Editor’s note Down from #223 in 2015 to #332 in 2025 in the US
• Guinevere#898Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #898 vs #2,788 in 2025

For a brother

• Ronan#247Irish, meaning “little seal”^*
• Finn#206“the Sami”^*
• Owen#31Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #31 vs #170 in 2025
• Declan#139Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #139 vs #372 in 2025
• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Liam#1Form of William, meaning “will + helmet”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Kenna’s. Rank is US 2025.