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, also spelt Ó Cionnaoith and Ó Cionaodha, meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". It was once popular in the 16th-century in Leinster, Munster, parts of Connacht and in County Tyrone in Ulster, and was Anglicised as O'Kenna, O'Kenny, O'Kinney, Kenna, Kenney, Kenny, and Kinney amongst other variations.
One bearer of the name was Cainnech of Aghaboe, better known in English as Saint Canice - a sixth-century Irish priest and missionary from near Dungiven, 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 Connacht. 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.
The given name, Kenny, is most often used as a short form of the name Kenneth and a diminutive form of Ken.
Contents
Given name
Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/516–600), also known as Saint Kenny, Irish saint, abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary
Kenny Adeleke (born 1983), Nigerian basketball player
Kenny Anderson (basketball) (born 1970), retired basketball player
Kenny Athiu, association footballer
Kenny Bailey (born 1974), American football player
Kenny Baillie, Scottish rugby union player
Kenny Bain (born 1990), Scottish field hockey player
Kenny Baker (English actor) (1934–2016), English actor and musician
Kenny Baker (American performer) (1912–1985), Singer and actor
Kenny Baker (fiddler) (1926–2011), American fiddle player
Kenny Baker (trumpeter) (1921–1999), English jazz musician and composer
Kenny Ball (1930–2013), English jazz musician
Kenny Banks (1923–1994), English footballer and coach
Kenny Barron (born 1943), American jazz pianist
Kenny Bartram (born 1978), American motocross rider
Kenny Bass (1922–1987), American polka artist
Kenny Basumatary (born 1980), Indian actor
Kenny Bates, American stuntman, film producer, and actor
Kenny Battle (born 1964), American basketball player
Kenny Bayless (born 1950), American boxing referee
Kenny Baysmore (born 1961), American boxer
Kenny Bee (born 1953), Hong Kong singer, musician and actor
Kenny Bell (born 1992), American football player
Kenny Bernstein (born 1944), NHRA driver
Kenny Black (born 1963), Scottish footballer
Kenny Booker, American basketball player
Kenny Bräck (born 1966), former Swedish IndyCar driver
Kenny Chesney (born 1968), American country music singer, songwriter and record producer
Kenny Chiu (born 1965), Canadian politician
Kenny Clarke (1914–1985), American jazz drummer and bandleader
Kenny Dalglish, Scottish soccer player and manager
Kenny Delmar (1910–1984), American actor and voice artist
Kenny Dillingham (born 1990), American football coach
Kenny Dykstra, American professional wrestler
Kenny Dyson (born 2001), American football player
Kenny Easley, American football player
Kenny Easterday (1973–2016), American man with sacral agenesis, known as "Man with half a body"
Kenny Edwards (rugby league) (born 1989), New Zealand Rugby League player
Kenny Everett (1944–1995), English disc-jockey and comedian
Kenny Fields (born 1962), American basketball player
Kenny Fletcher Jr. (born 2003), American football player
Kenny Golladay (born 1993), American football player
Kenny G (born 1956), American saxophonist
Kenny Habul (born 1973), Australian businessman and racing driver
Kenny Hagood (1926–1989), American jazz musician
Kenny Håkansson, Swedish musician
Kenny Hall (basketball) (born 1990), American basketball player
Kenny Hall (musician) (1923–2013), American musician
Kenny Harlock (fl. 1997), New Zealand association football player
Kenny Harrison (born 1965), American triple jumper and long jumper
Kenny Harrison (American football) (born 1953), American football player
Kenny Hasbrouck (born 1986), American basketball player
Kenny Hashimoto (born 1986), American judoka
Kenny Havard (born 1971), American politician
Kenny Hawkes (1968–2011), British DJ
Kenny Hayes (born 1987), American basketball player
Kenny Haynes, American basketball player
Kenny Heitz (1947–2012), American basketball player
Kenny Hotz, Canadian filmmaker and star of Kenny vs. Spenny
Kenny Hughes, actor, dancer, director and writer
Kenny Irwin Jr., former NASCAR driver
Kenny Jackett, English football player and manager
Kenny W. James, American voice actor
Kenny Kadji (born 1988), Cameroonian basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Kenny Kima Beyissa (born 2003), Central African footballer
Kenny Koplove, American baseball player
Kenny Lawler (born 1994), American football player
Kenny Layne (born 1981), American professional wrestler known also by the ring-name Kenny King
Kenny Lofton, baseball outfielder
Kenny Loggins (born 1948), American singer and songwriter
Kenny Lowe, English football manager
Kenny Mayne, American sports journalist
Kenny McIntosh (born 2000), American football player
Kenny Middlemiss (born 1964), Scottish badminton player
Kenny Miller, Scottish footballer
Kenny Minchey (born 2005), American football player
Kenny Moore, American athlete
Kenny Moore II, American football player
Kenny O'Dell (1944–2018), American country music singer and songwriter
Kenny Okoro, American football player
Kenny Omega (born 1982), ring name of Canadian-born professional wrestler Tyson Smith
Kenny Ortega (born 1950), film director and producer
Kenny Perry, American professional golfer
Kenny Pickett (born 1998), American football player
Kenny Price (1931–1987), American country music singer-songwriter
Kenny Roberts (born 1951), American motorcycle racer
Kenny Roberts Jr. (born 1973), American motorcycle racer
Kenny Roberts (musician) (1926–2012), American country music singer-songwriter
Kenny Roberts (swimmer) (born 1978), Seychellois swimmer
Kenny Robertson (born 1984), American mixed martial arts fighter
Kenny Robertson (basketball) (born c. 1969), American basketball player
Kenny Robinson (baseball) (1969–1999), American baseball player
Kenny Robinson (comedian) (born 1958), Canadian comedian & actor
Kenny Robinson (American football) (born 1999), American football player
Kenny Roby, North Carolina-based singer-songwriter
Kenny Rocha (born 2000), Cape Verdean footballer
Kenny Rogers (1938–2020), American country singer
Kenny Rogers (baseball) (born 1964), American baseball player
Kenny Rollins (1923–2012), American basketball player
Kenny Rosenberg (born 1995), American baseball player
Kenny Ross (born 1970), Scottish shanty player
Kenny Rowe (born 1989), American gridiron football player
Kenny Saief (born 1993), American-Israeli (of Druze family) professional soccer player
Kenny Sebastian (born 1990), Indian comedian
Kenny Stucker (born 1970), American football player
Kenny Tari (born 1990), Vanuatuan cricketer
Kenny Tate (born 1990), American gridiron football player
Kenny Taylor (basketball) (born 1982), American basketball player
Kenny Tran, a professional Vietnamese American poker player
Kenny Vaccaro (born 1991), American football player
Kenny Wallace (born 1974), American NASCAR driver
Kenny Washington (basketball), American basketball player and coach
Kenny Willekes (born 1997), American football player
Kenny Wooten (born 1998), American basketball player
Kenny Yeboah (born 1998), American football player
Kenny Young (American football) (born 1994), American football player
Kenny Youngblood, American motorsports artist
Surname
Anthony Kenny (born 1931), English philosopher
Arturo Kenny (born 1888), Argentine polo player
Bernard Kenny (born 1946), American politician
Bill Kenny (Australian footballer) (1897–1978), Australian rules footballer
Bill Kenny (English footballer), played at least one season in the American Soccer League
Bill Kenny (singer) (1914–1978), African-American singer with The Ink Spots
Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league footballer
Brian Kenny (disambiguation)
Carlos Kenny (born 1950), Argentine field hockey player
Charles Kenny (1898–1992), American composer and lyricist
Charles Kenny (cricketer) (1929–1996), English cricketer
Cindy Kenny-Gilday (born 1954), Sahtu environmentalist and activist for Indigenous rights in Canada
Clare Kenny (born 1976), British-Swiss artist
David Kenny (disambiguation)
Enda Kenny (born 1951), Irish politician, leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach
Enda Kenny (singer), Irish-born Australian folksinger and songwriter
Fictional characters
Kenny McCormick, one of the main characters from South Park
Kenny (Beyblade), in the anime and manga series Beyblade
Kenny (Tomorrow People), in the 1970s science fiction series The Tomorrow People
Kenny Chang, in the British web series Corner Shop Show
Kenny Powers (character), the protagonist of the HBO series Eastbound and Down
Kenny Smyth, a corporate bathroom plumber in the 2006 film Kenny
Kenny Wangler, an African-American drug addict in the HBO drama Oz
Kenny (Kouji), from Stitch!