McKenna is a surname of Irish origin. It is the anglicized form of the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

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

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

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

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, where they were "The Lords Of Truagh". In North Kerry, McKenna is considered to come from Mac Ginea. 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. Stephanie Ruth McKenna, famous artist from Hull Massachusetts.

Surname

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

Antoinette McKenna Antoinette McKenna was a singer and harpist from Dublin, Ireland. She accompanied her husband Joe, who learned to play pipes from Leo Rowsome Leo Rowsome (5 April 1903 - 20 September 1970) was the third generation of an unbroken line of ui ...

, 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. Biography ...

(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 (Born August 8, 1945 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian documentary film director. He is best known for his prize-winning films on Canadian history and exploration of the world at war. McKenna is a founding producer of CBC's Oscar ...

(born 1945), Canadian filmmaker *

Buck McKenna Buck McKenna was a Canadian football coach who was the head coach of Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competin ...

, Canadian football coach * Catherine McKenna (born 1971), Canadian politician *

Charlene McKenna Charlene Lee McKenna ( ga, Searlaoin Nic Chionaoith; born 26 March 1984) is an Irish actress. She became a household name in Ireland after starring as Jennifer Jackson in the miniseries '' Pure Mule'' (2005). She appeared on Irish television in ' ...

(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) is a British actress active during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for playing "Christina" in the television series '' Flambards''. McKenna was a drama student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in G ...

(born 1951), British actress *

Conor McKenna Conor McKenna (born 28 March 1996) is an Irish Gaelic football and Australian rules football player. He currently plays professional Australian rules football for Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League, AFL. McKenna previously played A ...

(born 1996), Australian footballer *

, Irish comedian *

David McKenna (disambiguation) David McKenna may refer to: *David McKenna (footballer) (born 1986), Scottish footballer * David McKenna (writer) (born 1968), American screenwriter and producer *David McKenna (politician) (?–2014), Canadian optometrist, businessman and politicia ...

, 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", a protest son ...

(born 1998), English singer, songwriter and musician * Dennis McKenna (born 1950), American ethnopharmacologist *

Donald McKenna (disambiguation) Donald McKenna may refer to: * Donald McKenna (cricketer) (1944–1995), Australian cricketer * Donald McKenna (philanthropist) Donald Carnegie McKenna (10 October 1907 – 26 November 1997) was an American businessperson and philanthropist. He ...

, several persons *

Eugene McKenna Eugene McKenna is a former Gaelic football manager and player for Augher St Macartan's and for the Tyrone county team. With three All Stars, three Ulster Senior Football Championship medals as a player, two as a manager to his name, and, in ...

, 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 Deputy Chairman of the Toronto-Dominion Bank. He served as Canadian Ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2006 ...

(born 1948), Canadian businessman, politician, and diplomat *

Gail McKenna Gail McKenna (born 30 December 1968) is an English former glamour model, former theatre and television actress, and former television presenter. She worked as a ''Page 3'' girl and glamour model from 1986 until 1990, before becoming a sports pre ...

(born 1968), English model, actress, and presenter * (Ged McKenna) (born 1956) English actor. *

Gerry McKenna Patrick Gerald McKenna, DL, FIBMS, FRSB, MRIA (born 10 December 1953), known informally and widely as Gerry McKenna, is a Chartered Biologist (CBiol, 1982) and Chartered Scientist (CSci, 2006) from Northern Ireland. Professor McKenna is most w ...

(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, includi ...

(born 1969), Australian football player and coach * Jimmy McKenna (born 1953), Scottish actor *

Joe McKenna Joe McKenna (born 10 June 1951 in Shinrone, County Offaly) is an Irish former hurler who played for his local club Shinrone in Offaly and later at senior level for the Offaly county team, before transferring to South Liberties and playing at ...

(born 1951), Irish hurler * John McKenna (disambiguation), several persons *

Joseph McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate J ...

(1843–1926), American politician *

Judith McKenna Judith McKenna (born 1966) is an English businesswoman. She has been CEO of Walmart's international division since 2018. Previously, she held leadership roles within Walmart's US division and Asda, a subsidiary of Walmart International. Early l ...

(born 1966/1967), British businesswoman *

Juliet E. McKenna Juliet E. McKenna (born 1965) is a British fantasy author with over fifteen epic fantasy novels. Biography McKenna was born in Lincolnshire in 1965, and studied Greek and Roman history and literature at St Hilda's College, Oxford. After colleg ...

(born 1965), British author * Ken McKenna (born 1960), English footballer and manager * Kevin McKenna (disambiguation), several persons *

Kit McKenna Kristian "Kit" Kerr McKenna (February 10, 1873 – March 31, 1941) was a Major League Baseball player, from Lynchburg, Virginia, who pitched for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Baltimore Orioles during the two seasons in which he played. In Ma ...

(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 (born 1933), American judge *

Lesley McKenna Lesley McKenna (born 9 August 1974 in Aviemore, Badenoch and Strathspey) is a former British professional snowboarder based in Aviemore, Scotland. McKenna has to date competed in three Winter Olympic Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010 but has not won a ...

(born 1974), British snowboarder * Lori McKenna (born 1968), American folk singer and songwriter * Malcolm McKenna (1930–2008), American palaeontologist *

Mark McKenna Mark McKenna (born 5 May 1996) is an Irish actor, musician, and singer. He is mostly known for having starred in the film ''Sing Street'' and the YouTube Premium/Amazon Prime series'' Wayne (TV series), Wayne''. Career McKenna made his film deb ...

, Irish actor *

Matt McKenna Matt McKenna (born August 19, 1975) is an American touring rock bassist known for his work with Jude Cole, Swirl 360, Ultrapull, Jetliner, and House of Lords. An American of Scottish descent, he spends much of his off-time in the UK. Jude Col ...

(born 1975), American bassist * Megan McKenna (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'' (2010–2012) and ''The Dumping Ground'' (2013–2018). She has since appeared in the iPlayer ser ...

(born 1997), English actress * Michael McKenna (disambiguation), several person * Niall McKenna (born 1977), Irish philanthropist for all things Gaelic football *

Nick McKenna Nicholas Edward McKenna (9 September 1895 – 22 April 1974) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1944 to 1968. He held ministerial office in the Chifley Government from 1946 to 1949 as Minister for Health a ...

(1895–1974), Australian politician *

Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957) is an Irish Independent and former Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004. She is a practising barrister having been ca ...

(born 1957), Irish politician * Patrick McKenna (born 1960), Canadian actor * Paul McKenna (born 1963), British hypnotist *

Peter McKenna Peter McKenna (born 27 August 1946 in Brunswick West, Victoria) 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 ...

(born 1946), Australian footballer * Peter McKenna (footballer) (1901–1964), English footballer * Reginald McKenna (1863–1943), British politician *

Richard McKenna Richard Milton McKenna (May 9, 1913 – November 1, 1964) was an American sailor and novelist. He was best known for his historical novel, ''The Sand Pebbles'' which tells the story of an American sailor serving aboard a Yangtze Patrol, gunboat ...

(1913–1964), American writer * Rob McKenna (born 1962), American politician * Rory McKenna (born 1993), New Zealand singer *

Robert McKenna Robert Fidelis McKenna (8 July 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an American sedeprivationist bishop who used to be a Catholic priest of the Dominican order. He was known for his traditionalist Catholic positions and was an advocate of sedeprivationi ...

(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) (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 a ...

(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 (1923–1986), Irish actress * Stephen McKenna (disambiguation), several persons * Terence McKenna (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 and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

(born 1931), British actress and writer * William McKenna (born 1946), American politician * Willie McKenna (1889–1958), Scottish footballer * William Mactire McKenna (1958) K&A Kensington, North Philadelphia Shamrock of the Irish Badlanders

Given name

Makenna Cowgill Makenna Cowgill (born September 11, 1998) is an American actress. She has provided voices for many animated and non-animated movies. Filmography * '' Bambi II'' (2006) * ''Meet the Robinsons'' (2007) * ''The Time Traveler's Wife'' (2009) * ' ...

(born 1998), American child actress *

Mckenna Grace Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress. She began acting professionally at the age of six, with her earliest roles including Jasmine Bernstein in the Disney XD sitcom '' Crash & Bernstein'' (2012–2014) and Faith Newman in t ...

(born 2006), American child actress

Fictional characters

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

Jonathon McKenna Dr. 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 throughout the 1990s, before returning for ...

, 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 an ...

, 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 certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

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

References

{{surname English-language surnames 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