McKenna is an Irish surname. It derives from the Gaelic name Cináed (Anglicized as Kenneth), meaning, “born of fire.” It is the

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

form of the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

''Mac Cionaodha'' meaning "son of Cionnaith", or of the Scottish surname, from

Galloway Galloway ( ; ; ) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the counties of Scotland, historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council areas of Scotland, council area of Dumfries and Gallow ...

, "MacCionaodha". The historical lineage of the McKennas lies in the Truagh,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, where they were "The Lords of Truagh". In

Munster_Irish Munster Irish (, ) is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Gaeltachtaí of the Dingle Peninsula in west County Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in ...

, McKenna is considered to come from Mag Cineáit. The Cionnath, Cionaoith, Cionaddha forms are considered there to be sources of names like Kenny, Kenney, and Kennedy. A similar Irish surname Ó Cionaodha, also spelt as Ó Cionnaith. The name is also sometimes used as a given name. This is a list of notable people with this name.

Surname

* Alan McKenna (disambiguation), several persons * Alex McKenna (born 1984), American actress * Andrew McKenna, American political organizer * Andrew J. McKenna (1929–2023), American businessman * Antoinette McKenna, Irish musician *

Barney McKenna Bernard Noël "Banjo Barney" McKenna (16 December 1939 – 5 April 2012) was an Irish musician and a founding member of The Dubliners. He played the tenor banjo, violin, mandolin, and melodeon. He was most renowned as a banjo player. Biograp ...

(1939–2012), Irish musician *

Bernard McKenna (writer) Bernard McKenna (born 1944) is a Scottish writer/producer who has written, or co-written, many hours of British television comedy. He is most known for his work with Graham Chapman of ''Monty Python'' fame as well as his collaborations with Pet ...

(born 1944), Scottish television writer and producer * Bernard J. McKenna (1842–1903), American politician *

Brian McKenna Brian McKenna (August 8, 1945 – May 5, 2023) was a Canadian documentary film director. He directed films on Canadian history and explorations of the world at war. Biography Brian McKenna was born on August 8, 1945 in Montreal, Canada McKenna ...

(1945–2023), Canadian filmmaker * Buck McKenna, Canadian football coach *

Catherine McKenna Catherine Mary McKenna (born August 5, 1971) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, McKenna was the minister of environment and climate change from 2015 to ...

(born 1971), Canadian politician * Charlene McKenna (born 1984), Irish actress * Charles F. McKenna (1844–1922), American judge * Chris McKenna (disambiguation), several persons * Christina McKenna, Irish writer *

Christine McKenna Christine McKenna (born 1951, Glasgow) is a British actress active during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for playing Christina in the television series '' Flambards''. Early life McKenna was a drama student at the Royal Scottish Academy of M ...

(born 1951), British actress * Conor McKenna (born 1996), Australian footballer * Conor McKenna, Irish comedian * David McKenna (disambiguation), several persons *

Declan McKenna Declan Benedict McKenna (born 24 December 1998) is an English singer-songwriter. He initially gained recognition for winning the Glastonbury Festival's Emerging Talent Competition in 2015. McKenna self-released the song "Brazil (Declan McKenna s ...

(born 1998), English singer, songwriter and musician * Dennis McKenna (born 1950), American ethnopharmacologist * Donald McKenna (disambiguation), several persons * Eugene McKenna, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer and manager *

Francine McKenna Francine McKenna is an American investigative journalist, educator, blogger, and commentator focused on the accounting industry, specifically the Big Four global accounting firms. She has documented these firms' failures to identify problems in ...

, American journalist, blogger, and columnist * Francis I. McKenna (1859–1914), American architect, and real estate and land developer *

Frank McKenna Francis Joseph McKenna (born January 19, 1948) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and diplomat. He is currently Chair of Brookfield Corporation and Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador ...

(born 1948), Canadian businessman, politician, and diplomat * Gail McKenna (born 1968), English model, actress, and presenter *

Gerry McKenna Patrick Gerald McKenna, Deputy Lieutenant, DL, Institute of Biomedical Science, FIBMS, Royal Society of Biology, FRSB, Royal Irish Academy, MRIA (born 10 December 1953), known informally and widely as Gerry McKenna, is a Chartered Biologist (CBiol ...

(born 1953), Northern Irish biologist and academic *

Guy McKenna Guy Lindsay McKenna (born 11 May 1969) is a retired Australian rules football player and the former senior coach of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). McKenna played 267 games for the West Coast Eagles, includ ...

(born 1969), Australian football player and coach *

Jimmy McKenna James Stephen McKenna is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Jack Osborne in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and Don Brady in ''A Touch of Frost''. Personal life McKenna lives in Sheffield, England with his wife and four ...

(born 1953), Scottish actor * Joe McKenna (born 1951), Irish hurler *

John McKenna (disambiguation) John McKenna (1855–1936) was an Irish businessman, rugby player, and first manager of Liverpool F.C. John McKenna or MacKenna may also refer to: Entertainment * John McKenna (flautist) (1880–1947), Irish-American flautist * John MacKenna (born ...

, several persons *

Joseph McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the Government of the United States, U.S. federal government as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorne ...

(1843–1926), American politician and judge * Judith McKenna (born 1966/1967), British businesswoman * Juliet E. McKenna (born 1965), British author * Ken McKenna (born 1960), English footballer and manager * Kevin McKenna (disambiguation), several persons *

Kieran McKenna Kieran McKenna (born 14 May 1986) is a professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of club Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town. Born in England, McKenna was raised in Nor ...

(born 1986), Northern Irish football manager * Kit McKenna (1873–1941), American baseball player *

Kristine McKenna Kristine McKenna is an American journalist, critic and art curator best known for her interviews with artists, writers, thinkers, filmmakers and musicians. Many of these have been collected in ''Book of Changes'' (2001) and ''Talk to Her'' (200 ...

, American journalist, critic and art curator * Lawrence M. McKenna (1933–2023), American judge * Lesley McKenna (born 1974), British snowboarder *

Lori McKenna Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit singl ...

(born 1968), American folk singer and songwriter *

Malcolm McKenna Malcolm Carnegie McKenna (1930–2008) was an American paleontologist and author on the subject. Paleontologist McKenna began his paleontology career at the Webb School of California (grades 9-12) in Claremont, California, under noted paleontolo ...

(1930–2008), American palaeontologist * Mark McKenna, Irish actor * Matt McKenna (born 1975), American bassist *

Megan McKenna Megan Elizabeth McKenna (born 26 September 1992) is an English television personality and singer. After making appearances on ''Ex on the Beach'' (2015–2016), she received wider attention for appearing on ''Celebrity Big Brother (British TV s ...

(born 1992), English television personality *

Mia McKenna-Bruce Mia Sasha McKenna-Bruce (born 3 July 1997) is an English actress. She gained prominence through her role as Tee Taylor in '' Tracy Beaker Returns'' and ''The Dumping Ground''. Her films include ''Persuasion'' and '' How to Have Sex''. For th ...

(born 1997), English actress * Michael McKenna (disambiguation), several person * Molly McKenna (born 2006), British trampoline gymnast * Niall McKenna (born 1977), Irish philanthropist for all things Gaelic football * Nick McKenna (1895–1974), Australian politician *

Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957) is an Irish Independent politician (Ireland), independent and former Green Party (Ireland), Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin (European Parliament ...

(born 1957), Irish politician *

Patrick McKenna Patrick McKenna (born May 8, 1960) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series '' The Red Green Show'' and Marty Stevens on the television series '' Traders''. Early life Patrick McKenna ...

(born 1960), Canadian actor *

Paul McKenna Paul McKenna (born 8 November 1963) is a British hypnotist, behavioural scientist, television and radio broadcaster and author of self-help books. McKenna has hosted self-improvement television shows and presents seminars in hypnosis, ne ...

(born 1963), British hypnotist *

Peter McKenna (Australian footballer) Peter McKenna (born 27 August 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He also represented Devonport in the North West Football ...

(born 1946), Australian footballer * Peter McKenna (English footballer) (1901–1964), English footballer *

Reginald McKenna Reginald McKenna (6 July 1863 – 6 September 1943) was a British banker and Liberal politician. His first Cabinet post under Henry Campbell-Bannerman was as President of the Board of Education, after which he served as First Lord of the Admira ...

(1863–1943), British politician *

Richard McKenna Richard Milton McKenna (May 9, 1913 – November 1, 1964) was an American sailor and writer. In the late 1950s, he began writing science fiction stories, and is best known for his 1963 historical novel '' The Sand Pebbles'', which tells the stor ...

(1913–1964), American writer *

Rob McKenna Robert Marion McKenna (born October 1, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th attorney general of Washington from 2005 to 2013 after serving on the Metropolitan King County Council from 1996 to 2005. A member of the ...

(born 1962), American politician * Rollie McKenna, photographer * Rory McKenna (born 1993), New Zealand singer *

Robert McKenna Robert Fidelis McKenna (8 July 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an American Catholic priest of the Dominican order who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He was known for his traditionalist Catholic positions and was an advocate of sedep ...

(1927–2015), American Catholic bishop and exorcist * Ryan McKenna (politician) (born 1973), American politician * Ryan McKenna (baseball) (born 1997), American baseball player *

Sabrina McKenna Sabrina Shizue McKenna (born October 7, 1957) is an American judge from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Since March 3, 2011, she has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Early life and education McKenna was born on October 7, 1957, in To ...

(born 1957), American judge * Sarah McKenna (born 1989), English rugby player * Scott McKenna, Scottish Footballer *

Sean McKenna (footballer) Sean Barry McKenna (born 28 July 1987) is a Scottish association football, football Striker (association football), striker who plays for Shotts Bon Accord F.C., Shotts Bon Accord in the Scottish Junior Football Central Division One, West of Sc ...

(born 1987), Scottish footballer *

Sean McKenna (ice hockey) Sean Michael McKenna (born March 7, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Early life McKenna was born in Asbestos, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1974 and 1975 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with ...

(born 1962), Canadian ice hockey player *

Seana McKenna Seana McKenna (born 15 August 1956) is a Canadian actress primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Background Seana McKenna was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a graduate of the National Theatre Schoo ...

(born 1956), Canadian stage actor *

Siobhán McKenna Siobhán McKenna (; 24 May 1922 – 16 November 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress. Early life She was born Siobhán Giollamhuire Nic Cionnaith in Belfast in the newly created Northern Ireland into a Catholic and nationalist family. ...

(1923–1986), Irish actress * Stephen McKenna (disambiguation), several persons *

Terence McKenna Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946–April 3, 2000) was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He spoke and wrote about a variety of subjects, ...

(1946–2000), American philosopher * Thomas Patrick McKenna (1929–2011), Irish actor *

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author, animal rights activist, and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films '' A Town Like Alice'' (1956), ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ' ...

(born 1931), British actress and writer * William McKenna (politician) (born 1946), American politician * William McKenna (actor), Australian actor * Willie McKenna (1889–1958), Scottish footballer

Given name

* Makenna Cowgill (born 1998), American child actress *

McKenna Grace Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress and singer. Born in Grapevine, Texas, she began acting professionally at age five and relocated to Los Angeles, California, as a child. Her earliest roles included Jasmine Bernstein in ...

(born 2006), American child actress * McKenna Harris, American filmmaker * Makenna Webster (born 2002), American ice hockey player

Fictional characters

* Elise McKenna, portrayed by Jane Seymore in '' Somewhere in Time'' *

Jonathon McKenna Jonathon Alexander McKenna is a fictional character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street''. He is portrayed by Kieren Hutchison, who played the role in both recurring and regular stints in the 1990s, before returning for a six-month p ...

, from the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' *

Rachel McKenna Rachel McKenna is a fictional character from the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'', played by Angela Bloomfield and who made her first appearance in early 1993. Bloomfield left the role in late 1999, before returning in early 2001 and ...

, from the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' * Ginger McKenna, portrayed by Sharon Stone in the 1995 film ''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

'' * Quinn McKenna, portrayed by Boyd Holbrook in the 2018 film ''The Predator'' * McKenna Brooks,

American Girl American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old girls of various ethnicities, faiths, nationalities, and social classes throughout different time periods ...

character

References

{{surname English feminine given names Feminine given names English-language surnames Given names originating from a surname Surnames of Irish origin Anglicised Irish-language surnames Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language surnames Patronymic surnames fr:McKenna ja:マッケナ pt:McKenna ru:Маккенна

Surname

Given name

Fictional characters

See also

References