Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish Ó Cionnaith, also spelt Ó Cionnaoith and Ó Cionaodha, meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". It was once popular in the 16th-century in Leinster, Munster, parts of Connacht and in County Tyrone in Ulster, and was Anglicised as O'Kenna, O'Kenny, O'Kinney, Kenna, Kenny, and Kinney amongst other variations. One bearer of the name was Cainnech of Aghaboe, better known in English as Saint Canice - a sixth-century Irish priest and missionary from near Dungiven, after whom the city and county of Kilkenny is also named. The Irish form Cill Chainnigh means "Church of Canice". It is thought that the Ó Cionnaith sept was part of the Uí Maine kingdom, based in Connacht. Within this area, the name is associated traditionally with counties Galway and Roscommon. Kenny is ranked at number 76 in the list of the most common surnames in Ireland. Other spellings include O'Kenny, Kenney, Kennie, Kinnie and Kinny. The given name, Kenny, is most often used as a short form of the name Kenneth and a diminutive form of Ken. Given name Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/516–600), also known as Saint Kenny, Irish saint, abbot, monastic founder, priest and missionary Kenny Adeleke (born 1983), Nigerian basketball player Kenny Anderson (basketball) (born 1970), retired basketball player Kenny Athiu, association footballer Kenny Baker (English actor) (1934–2016), English actor, best known to portray R2-D2 in the Star Wars franchise. Kenny Ball (1930–2013), English jazz musician Kenny Bell (born 1992), American football player Kenny Bernstein (born 1944), NHRA driver Kenny Black (born 1963), Scottish footballer Kenny Booker, American basketball player Kenny Bräck (born 1966), former Swedish IndyCar driver Kenny Chesney (born 1968), American country music singer, songwriter and record producer Kenny Clarke (1914–1985), American jazz drummer and bandleader Kenny Dalglish, Scottish soccer player and manager Kenny Delmar (1910–1984), American actor and voice artist Kenny Dillingham (born 1990), American football coach Kenny Dykstra, American professional wrestler Kenny Easley, American football player Kenny Easterday (1973–2016), American man with sacral agenesis, known as "Man with half a body" Kenny Edwards (rugby league) (born 1989), New Zealand Rugby League player Kenny Everett (1944–1995), English disc-jockey and comedian Kenny Fields (born 1962), American basketball player Kenny Golladay (born 1993), American football player Kenny Håkansson, Swedish musician Kenny Heitz (1947–2012), American basketball player Kenny Hotz, Canadian