Kennady Surname History

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

The saga of the name Kennady begins with a Strathclyde-Briton family in the ancient Scottish/English Borderlands. It is a name for a dour or serious person. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Gaelic nickname Cinneididh, which translates as grim-headed. It is doubtful that there is any ancient relationship between the Irish Kennedys and the Scottish Clan.

The Irish Kennedy's history dates back to about 900 AD, and there did not appear to be any direct relationship between the two families. However, in the 16th century, a sept of the Scottish Kennedy Clan did develop in Ulster, but they are undoubtedly migrants from Scotland, and had no previous link to the southern Irish Kennedys.

Early Origins of the Kennady family

The surname Kennady was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, where the earliest record of them dates from 1185, during the reign of King William the Lion, when a Henry Kennedy was reported to have been involved in a rebellion in Galloway but died in battle.

The Kennedys derived from a branch of Celtic Earls of Galloway (not to be confused with Gallway, which is in Ireland). Their power and influence in that region was great. In fact, there is a rhyme handed down through clansmen and bards from the year 1300 which runs as follows: 'Twixt Wigtown and the town of Ayr, Portpatrick and the Cruives of Cree. No man need think to bide there, unless he court with Kennedy.' 1

Early History of the Kennady family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kennady research. Another 246 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1296, 1406, 1437, 1451, 1480, 1508, 1509, 1513, 1515, 1527, 1541, 1558, 1573, 1576, 1615, 1646, 1653, 1668, 1701 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kennady History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kennady Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Kennady has been spelled Kennedy, Kannady, Kenardy, Kennaday, Kenneday, Kenneyday, Kennediem, MacKennedy, MacUalraig (Gaelic) and many more.

Early Notables of the Kennady family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy (c. 1406-c. 1480); John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy (1451-1508); David Kennedy, 3rd Lord Kennedy (d. 1513) (created Earl of Cassilis in 1509); David Kennedy, 1st Earl of Cassilis (d. 1513); Gilbert Kennedy, 2nd Earl of Cassilis...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kennady Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kennady family to Ireland

Some of the Kennady family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kennady migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Kennady Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Margy Kennady, who landed in Virginia in 1701 2
Nathaniel Kennady, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1777 2

Kennady Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Hugh Kennady, aged 26, who landed in Tennessee in 1812 2
Val Kennady, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816 2
Ann Kennady, aged 40, who arrived in New York in 1864 2
Richard Kennady, aged 7, who arrived in New York in 1864 2
James Kennady, who arrived in New York in 1864 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Kennady migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Kennady Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Kennady, (b. 1861), aged 6 months, Irish settler from Antrim, travelling from London aboard the ship "Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 25th September 1862 3
Mr. Murty Kennady, (b. 1838), aged 24, Irish farm labourer from Antrim, travelling from London aboard the ship "Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 25th September 1862 3
Mrs. Rachel Kennady, (b. 1840), aged 22, Irish settler from Antrim, travelling from London aboard the ship "Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 25th September 1862 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Kennady (post 1700) +

Samuel D. Kennady (b. 1823), American politician, Mayor of Owensboro, Kentucky, 1866-72 4
Marshall H. Kennady, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1944, 1948, 1952 4

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html