How common is the surname McKenna?

27,293 people in the United States had the surname McKenna in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,312 Americans. It ranked 1,284th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname McKenna?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named McKenna identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named McKenna?

Terence McKenna, American ethnobotanist and mystic (1946–2000), followed by Virginia McKenna.

Where is the surname McKenna most common?

Wikidata records people named McKenna in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce McKenna?

McKenna is /məˈkɛnə/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname McKenna getting more or less common?

More common. 26,189 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 27,293 in 2010, up 4.2%.

Is McKenna also a first name?

Yes. McKenna is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname McKenna

A Scottish Gaelic surname, carried by 27,293 people in the United States.

Pronounced /məˈkɛnə/ 3 syllables Soundex M250 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). McKenna is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McKinney.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 27,293 people named McKenna in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 11,312 Americans. That is up 4.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 26,189.

#1,284

rank among US surnames

27,293

people in 2010

9.3

per 100,000 Americans

+4.2%

change since 2000 (was #1,226)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,275	Olvera	27,551	11,206
#1,276	Sykes	27,546	11,208
#1,277	Manuel	27,529	11,215
#1,278	Burks	27,523	11,218
#1,279	Chin	27,487	11,232
#1,280	Quiroz	27,452	11,247
#1,281	Hopper	27,353	11,287

Who is named McKenna

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named McKenna identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.1% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.1%
Two or more races 1.1%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous McKennas

17 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Terence McKenna
American ethnobotanist and mystic (1946–2000)
Virginia McKenna
British actress, born 1931
Mia McKenna-Bruce
British actress, born 1997
Chris McKenna
American television producer and writer, born 20
Kieran McKenna
Association football manager (born 1986)
Reginald McKenna
British banker and Liberal politician (1863-1943)
Alex McKenna
American actress, born 1984
Lori McKenna
American musician, born 1968
Malcolm McKenna
American paleontologist (1930–2008)
Richard McKenna
American writer (1913-1964)
Aline Brosh McKenna
American screenwriter (born 1967)
Dave McKenna
American musician (1930-2008)

Notable McKennas come mostly from the United States (12), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Makenna
Mackenna

Surnames that sound like McKenna

McKenna has the Soundex code M250, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M250.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname McKenna come from?: From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McKinney.
How common is the surname McKenna?: 27,293 people in the United States had the surname McKenna in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,312 Americans. It ranked 1,284th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname McKenna?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named McKenna identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named McKenna?: Terence McKenna, American ethnobotanist and mystic (1946–2000), followed by Virginia McKenna.
Where is the surname McKenna most common?: Wikidata records people named McKenna in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce McKenna?: McKenna is /məˈkɛnə/, 3 syllables.
Is the surname McKenna getting more or less common?: More common. 26,189 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 27,293 in 2010, up 4.2%.
What are other spellings of McKenna?: Makenna and Mackenna.
Is McKenna also a first name?: Yes. McKenna is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.