# Kenneth (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/kenneth/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 632 |
| US rank (2010) | 35,582 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 488,521 people |
| Change since 2000 | -3.1% (652 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɛn.əθ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of two Goidelic names, Old Irish Cináed, the name of Scottish kings derived from Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ (Ciniod), and the saint's name Cainnech (literally “handsome”) (modern Scottish Gaelic Coinneach), as in the surname Mackenzie.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Kenneth in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 56% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 18% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 4.8% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 15% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Similar surnames

Kennedy, Kent, Kennett, Knott, Knuth, Kondo, Kind, Kindt, Kawamoto, Kamath, Kunde, Konda.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.