Kennedy (surname)

Kennedy, alternately O'Kennedy and Kennedie, is a surname of Irish and Scottish origin that has also been used as a given name.
Origins.
There have been several different etymologies given for the surname. One is that the name is an Anglicisation of "Ó Cinnéide", meaning "grandson of "Cinnédidh"" or "grandson of "Cinnéidigh"", with both of these personal names meaning "helmet headed." "Ceanéidigh" could be related to the old Gaelic name "Cennétig", which is known from Cennétig mac Lorcáin, the father of the Irish high king "Brian mac Cennétig", who himself was also known as "Brian Bóruma" or Brian Boru. There are also an Irish Kennedy family and a Scottish Kennedy clan of Carrick in Ayrshire, which are unrelated to one another. Another possibility is that "Kennedy" is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic "Ó Ceannéidigh" meaning "grandson of "Ceannéidigh"". "Ceannéidigh" is a given name derived from the Gaelic words "ceann", meaning "head", and "éidigh", meaning "ugly" or "fierce". In some etymologies, the element "ceann" is given as "chief" or "leader".