Kenneth

//ˈkɛn.əθ// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A male given name from Scottish Gaelic, originally used in Scotland, popular in all English-speaking countries in the 20th century. countable, uncountable

    "Know, however, that among the soldiers of the Cross I am called Kenneth - Kenneth of the Couching Leopard; at home I have other titles, but they would sound harsh in an Eastern ear."

  2. 2
    A surname from Scottish Gaelic. countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

"Kenneth Starr abused his power again and took away my right to get on-line."

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.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.