Kenna
Kenna was the 759th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 357 babies. Its best year was 2016, when it ranked 661st with 444 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 82 places. More babies were named Kenna in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning from McKenna or Irish Ó Cionaodha · Irish, Scottish Gaelic
Say it KEN-uh /ˈkɛnə/
- Rank in 2025
- #759 girls, down 75 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 357girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2016444 babies
- Total since 1880
- 13,781babies recorded
What does the name Kenna mean?
Kenna is a Scottish and Irish surname. Wiktionary gives two origins: shortened from McKenna, and from Irish Ó Cionaodha, descendant of Cionaodh, a name usually anglicized as Kenneth. As a girls' name it has risen in recent decades. Kenneth itself has two Gaelic sources, one of them meaning handsome, according to Wiktionary, so Kenna's meaning is only indirect. US records show Kenna since 1915.
Ó Cionaodha (Irish, “descendant of Cionaodh”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Surname with two Gaelic sources; the meaning of Cionaodh is not given in our sources.
Related names: McKenna, Kenneth, Kendra, Kenzie.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kenna' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Kenneth' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Kenna popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 245 since 1915, 5 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #759 | 357 |
| 2020 | #684 | 416 |
| 2010 | #845 | 318 |
| 2000 | #990 | 215 |
| 1990 | #1,416 | 112 |
| 1980 | #1,617 | 72 |
| 1970 | #1,337 | 79 |
| 1960 | #1,359 | 66 |
| 1950 | #1,697 | 31 |
| 1940 | #2,494 | 12 |
| 1930 | #3,864 | 7 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Kenna, counting every spelling?
Kenna is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #748 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #759 for Kenna on its own. Together these spellings went to 370 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenna | 357 | #759 | 1,959 |
| Kena | 13 | #8,105 | 68 |
| Kennah | — | — | 39 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Kenna?
357 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Kenna (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Kenna born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 23 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Kenna.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Kenna?
About 13,000 people born in the US named Kenna are alive today, with a median age of 18; half are between 9 and 31. That makes Kenna mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Kenna by state
How common Kenna was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Iowa (3.8×), Nebraska (3.1×), Oklahoma (2.5×), Kansas (2.5×), Arkansas (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Connecticut, Mississippi, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Kenna: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Kenna, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Kenna · Sibling names for Kenna
Kenna is also a nickname for Mckenna and Makenna.
Questions about the name Kenna
What does Kenna mean?
Kenna is usually explained as “from McKenna or Irish Ó Cionaodha”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Kenna?
Kenna was the 759th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 357 babies. Its best year was 2016, when it ranked 661st with 444 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 82 places. More babies were named Kenna in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Kenna a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Kenna in the US.
Where is Kenna most popular?
In 2021–2025, Kenna was most common in South Dakota (0.91 per 1,000 girls), followed by Iowa and Nebraska.