Hennessy (or Hennessey) is an

Irish surname A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ac ...

, being the anglicised form of

Ó hAonghusa Ó hAonghusa is the surname of at least two distinct Gaelic-Irish families. It is now anglicised as Hennessy and Hennessey. One Ó hAonghusa family were located at Cill Bheagáin, in the Kingdom of Uí Failghe, in the Irish midlands. Another fa ...

. Notable people with the surname include: *

Arthur Hennessy Arthur Stephen "Ash" Hennessy (24 September 1876 – 19 September 1959) was an Australian pioneer rugby league identity. He was a seminal figure in the creation of the South Sydney Rabbitohs for whom he played and later coached. He was a state an ...

(1876–1959), Australian pioneer rugby league identity * Bill Hennessy (disambiguation) *

Carly Smithson Carly Sarah Smithson ( Hennessy; born 12 September 1983) is an Irish soul and pop rock singer who was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of ''American Idol''. In 2001, Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called ...

(née Hennessy, born 1983), Irish singer *

Christie Hennessy Christie Hennessy (born Edward Christopher Ross; 19 November 1945 – 11 December 2007) was an Irish folk singer-songwriter. Although Hennessy was unable to read or write due to severe dyslexia, he still wrote his own songs such as "Roll Back ...

(1945-2007), Irish singer * Claire Hennessy (born 1986), Irish novelist *

Clinton Hennessy Clinton Hennessy (born 28 July 1977) is an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Waterford senior team. Hennessy joined the team when he replaced Stephen Brenner as first-choice 'keeper in 2005 and was a regular member of the star ...

(born 1977), Irish sportsperson *

David Hennessy David C. Hennessy (1858 – October 16, 1890) was a police chief of New Orleans, Louisiana. As a young detective, he made headlines in 1881 when he captured a notorious Italian criminal, Giuseppe Esposito. In 1888, he was promoted to superintend ...

(1858–1890), police chief of New Orleans * Esmé Frances Hennessy (born 1933), South African botanist *

George Hennessy, 1st Baron Windlesham George Richard James Hennessy, 1st Baron Windlesham, OBE (23 March 1877 – 8 October 1953) was a British soldier and Conservative politician. Hennessy, a Franco-Irish aristocrat, served in the First World War as a Major in the King's Royal R ...

(1877, 1953), British soldier and Conservative politician *

Jean Hennessy Jean Patrick Hennessy (26 April 1874 – 4 November 1944) was a French politician. Hennessy was born at Cherves-Richemont in the Charente département, son of Maurice Hennessy and his wife Jeanne, née Foussat. His family, of Irish origin, w ...

(1874–1944), French politician and member of the

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ma ...

family * Jacqueline Hennessy (born 1968), journalist *

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossing ...

(born 1968), film and television actress *

Joe Hennessy Joseph Patrick Hennessy (born 17 January 1956) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in Kilkenny, Hennessy first played competitive hurling during his schooling at CBS Kilkenny. He arrived ...

(born 1956), former Irish sportsperson * Archbishop John Hennessy (1825–1900), head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque *

John L. Hennessy John Leroy Hennessy (born September 22, 1952) is an American computer scientist, academician and businessman who serves as Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and served as t ...

(born 1953), American computer scientist and current president of Stanford University *

John Pope Hennessy Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong and the fifteenth Governor of Mauritius. Early life John Pope Henness ...

(1834–1891), Irish colonial administrator and politician - eighth governor of Hong Kong, fifteenth governor of Mauritius, MP for King's County *

Josh Hennessy Joshua Hennessy (born February 7, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He most recently played for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL). Hennessy previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) fo ...

(born 1985), professional ice hockey player * Kevin Hennessy (born 1961), Irish retired sportsperson *

Larry Hennessy Larry Hennessy (May 20, 1929 – August 20, 2008) was an American basketball player. Hennessy, a 6' 4" forward out of Blessed Sacrament High School in New Rochelle, New York, played college basketball for Villanova University. An excellent pa ...

(1929–2008), American basketball player *

Matt Hennessy Matthew Connor Hennessy (born November 17, 1997) is an American football center for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple. Early life and high school Hennessy was born in Nyack, New York ...

(born 1997), American football player *

Matthew Hennessy Matthew Hennessy is an Irish computer scientist who has contributed especially to concurrency, process calculi and programming language semantics. Career During 1976–77, Matthew Hennessy was an assistant professor at the University of Water ...

, Irish computer scientist *

Miranda Hennessy Miranda Hennessy (born 12 January in Bournemouth, Dorset) is a British stage and film actress. In 2014, she starred in ''Pramface'' and an episode of ''Siblings''. Biography She went to Hutton Primary School in Hutton, Somerset, near Weston-Supe ...

, British actress and comedian * Neil Hennessy (born 1978), musician and music producer/engineer * Patrick Hennessy, several people including **

Patrick Hennessy (painter) Patrick Anthony Hennessy RHA (28 August 1915 – 30 December 1980) was an Irish realist painter. He was known for his highly finished still lifes, landscapes and ''trompe l'oeil'' paintings. The hallmark of his style was his carefully observed ...

, (1915–1980), an Irish artist ** Sir

Patrick Hennessy (industrialist) Sir Patrick Hennessy (18 April 1898 – 13 March 1981) was an Irish-born British industrialist, originally from County Cork. During the First World War he served in the British Army, between 1914 and 1918, with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ...

, (1898–1981), an Irish-born British industrialist, *

Peter Hennessy Peter John Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, (born 28 March 1947) is an English historian and academic specialising in the history of government. Since 1992, he has been Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary Unive ...

(born 1947), English historian of government * Ryan Hennessy (born 1995), Irish singer and musician *

Séamus Hennessy Séamus Hennessy (born 1 May 1989) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Tipperary senior team. Hennessy made his first appearance for the team during the 2009 Waterford Crystal Cup. During that time he has won one All-Irelan ...

, Irish sportsperson *

Swan Hennessy Edward Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. In his pre-War piano music, he excelled as a miniaturist in descriptive, programmatic music. After joining ...

(1866–1929), Irish-American composer resident in Paris *

Thomas Hennessy Thomas Hennessy was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician and medical practitioner. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at a by-election on 11 March 1925 for the Dublin South constituency, after the resignation of the Cumann na nGaedhe ...

, Irish politician *

Thomas Hennessy (American football) Thomas Hennessy (born June 11, 1994) is an American football long snapper for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Duke. He has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Early years Hennessy ...

(born 1994), American football player * W. Louis Hennessy (born 1955), 4th Circuit Court Associate Judge in Maryland, former Maryland Delegate * William Hennessy (disambiguation)

See also