Kenna

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Kenna, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Ailsa
• Mackenzie
• Rhona
• Iona
• Eilidh
• Jessa
• Greer
• Shona
• Brenna
• Morag
• Ainsley
• Aila

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Kenna is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Swahili given name5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Ke'Nna

• Hindi given name2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Këññä

54 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Kenna is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• reduced form of McKenna.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• Pride; to be admired.

  as a name·The African book of names

• In wym, to know (be acquainted or familiar with)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Estonian, illative singular of kena

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In bug, be struck, affected by

  as a word·Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (ACD), CLDF v2.0

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Mary Calleryb. 1903USnot in their usual nameAmerican artist and art dealer (1903-1977)
• Kenna Campbellb. 1937GBScottish singer
• Kenna Jamesb. 1963USAmerican poker player
• Kenna Jamesb. 1995USAmerican pornographic actress
• Kenna Lionelb. 2002LCSaint Lucian association football player
• Kenna CrossUSAmerican politician
• Kenna QuinetUSprofessor emeritus of criminology

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

A formal English salutation is built on the surname, so it needs a full name — on its own, a first name only supports the informal form.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

Is Kenna a male or female name?

Kenna is a female name. National registers that list it by sex list it as female: United States (Census Bureau, 2020).

What are other forms of the name Kenna?

In the etymology graph, Kendra and KeninA are forms of the same name in other languages.

What does the name Kenna mean, and where does it come from?

A surname from Irish, a variant anglicization of Ó Cionaodha (Kinney). Recorded by kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations).

How do you pronounce Kenna?

A machine transcription gives /ˈkɛnə/ (IPA) for English.

How common is the name Kenna?

In the United States, the national register counted 10,812 people named Kenna in 2020, about 1 in 31 thousand residents.

In which country does Kenna have the most bearers?

In the United States, the national register counted about 11 thousand people named Kenna, more than in any other country we hold, where it is most often spelled kenna.

Where is Kenna most common?

Kenna is densest in the United States, where the national register counts about 1 in 31 thousand people carrying it.