NameCensus.

UK surname

Kennelly

Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cinnfhaolaidh, meaning "descendant of Cennfhaolaidh," a personal name of uncertain etymology.

In the 1881 census there were 157 people recorded with the Kennelly surname, ranking it #15,046 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 469, ranked #10,491, up from #15,046 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Kings Norton and St Marylebone. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Hounslow, Sheffield and Bradford.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Kennelly is 478 in 2014. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 198.7%.

1881 census count

157

Ranked #15,046

Modern count

469

2016, ranked #10,491

Peak year

2014

478 bearers

Map years

7

1881 to 2016

Key insights

  • Kennelly had 157 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #15,046 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 469 in 2016, ranked #10,491.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 163 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Kennelly surname distribution map

The map shows where the Kennelly surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Kennelly surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Kennelly over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 70 #21,020
1861 historical 71 #24,765
1881 historical 157 #15,046
1891 historical 141 #19,108
1901 historical 163 #17,205
1911 historical 150 #17,866
1997 modern 426 #10,490
1998 modern 442 #10,547
1999 modern 451 #10,435
2000 modern 434 #10,730
2001 modern 427 #10,673
2002 modern 443 #10,577
2003 modern 446 #10,361
2004 modern 441 #10,474
2005 modern 428 #10,619
2006 modern 415 #10,928
2007 modern 419 #10,954
2008 modern 423 #10,975
2009 modern 440 #10,888
2010 modern 458 #10,756
2011 modern 440 #10,977
2012 modern 462 #10,470
2013 modern 475 #10,401
2014 modern 478 #10,428
2015 modern 473 #10,440
2016 modern 469 #10,491

Geography

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Where Kennellys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Kings Norton, St Marylebone and Liverpool. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Hounslow, Sheffield, Bradford and Welwyn Hatfield. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 Kings Norton Worcestershire
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Marylebone London (North Districts)
5 Liverpool Lancashire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Hounslow 023 Hounslow
2 Sheffield 076 Sheffield
3 Hounslow 025 Hounslow
4 Bradford 039 Bradford
5 Welwyn Hatfield 012 Welwyn Hatfield

Forenames

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First names often paired with Kennelly

These lists show first names that appear often with the Kennelly surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Kennelly

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Kennelly, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

Nationally, the Kennelly surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Multicultural Inner Suburbs, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Kennelly household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Kennelly is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Kennelly is most concentrated in decile 9 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

9
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Kennelly falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Kennelly is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Kennelly, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Kennelly

The surname Kennelly is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic name Ó Cionnaoithe, which means "descendant of Cionaoth." Cionaoth was a personal name derived from the Old Irish words "cion" meaning "head" and "aith" meaning "prayer." The name likely originated in the 10th or 11th century in County Cork, Ireland.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written by monks in the 12th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as O'Kinealy, O'Kennealy, and O'Kinnelly, throughout medieval Irish records and manuscripts.

In the late 16th century, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the English administration in Ireland attempted to standardize the spelling of Irish surnames to make them more anglicized. This led to the emergence of the Kennelly spelling, which became more prevalent in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Notable individuals with the Kennelly surname include:

1. Patrick Kennelly (1779-1864), an Irish nationalist and member of the United Irishmen, a revolutionary republican movement in the late 18th century. 2. Arthur Edwin Kennelly (1861-1939), an American electrical engineer and physicist who made significant contributions to the development of alternating current (AC) theory and the understanding of electromagnetic waves. 3. Brendan Kennelly (1936-2021), an Irish poet, novelist, and cultural commentator, widely regarded as one of the most important voices in contemporary Irish literature. 4. Michael Kennelly (born 1990), an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats in the Australian Football League (AFL). 5. Nicola Kennelly (born 1986), an English actress best known for her roles in television series such as Silent Witness and Derry Girls.

The Kennelly surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Killakennelly (derived from the Irish "Cill a' Chionaoithe," meaning "church of the descendant of Cionaoth") and Ballyknockane (from "Baile Uí Chionnaoithe," meaning "town of the descendant of Cionaoth").

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Kennelly families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Kennelly surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 39 Kennellys recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.44x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 39 2.44x
Lancashire 34 1.79x
Surrey 21 2.69x
Warwickshire 12 2.97x
Hampshire 10 3.05x
Sussex 8 2.97x
Devon 7 2.10x
Channel Islands 6 12.66x
Staffordshire 6 1.11x
Durham 4 0.84x
Suffolk 4 2.05x
Somerset 3 1.17x
Cumberland 2 1.45x
Essex 2 0.63x
Kent 2 0.37x
Cheshire 1 0.28x
Merionethshire 1 3.42x
Royal Navy 1 5.25x
Shropshire 1 0.72x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. St Marylebone London in Middlesex leads with 18 Kennellys recorded in 1881 and an index of 21.07x.

Place Total Index
St Marylebone London 18 21.07x
Blackburn 9 17.82x
Aston 8 7.20x
Lambeth 7 5.02x
Manchester 7 8.20x
St George Martyr London 7 216.05x
Brighton 6 11.03x
Islington London 6 3.87x
Plymouth St Andrew 6 23.39x
St Helier 6 38.89x
Wolstanton Thursfield 6 909.09x
Clapham 5 25.00x
Southampton All Sts 5 88.81x
Bermondsey 4 8.40x
Birmingham 4 2.97x
Oldham 4 6.53x
Orford 4 634.92x
Stretford 4 38.31x
Alverstoke 3 25.27x
Fulwell 3 1034.48x
Liverpool 3 2.60x
Taunton St Mary 3 63.42x
Battersea 2 3.40x
Caldewgate 2 26.49x
Chelsea London 2 4.15x
Everton 2 3.31x
Kearsley 2 50.13x
Rottingdean 2 217.39x
Ryde 2 28.41x
St Pancras London 2 1.55x
Wandsworth 2 12.99x
Cheetham 1 7.06x
Chester St Mary On Hill 1 33.00x
Cleobury Mortimer 1 114.94x
Clerkenwell London 1 2.65x
Devonport 1 26.11x
Hornsey 1 4.94x
Kyo 1 44.64x
Mortlake 1 28.82x
Norton Folgate London 1 192.31x
Royal Navy 1 6.14x
St George Hanover Square 1 3.55x
Swanscombe 1 40.82x
Towyn 1 54.35x
Wanstead 1 18.08x
Warrington 1 4.44x
West Derby 1 1.80x
Witham 1 61.35x
Woolwich 1 4.96x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Kennelly surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Kennelly surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 13
Michael 9
William 7
James 6
Thomas 5
Edward 4
Alfred 3
Joseph 3
Patrick 3
Francis 2
Frederick 2
Richard 2
Benjm.Heather 1
Caleb 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Denis 1
Edwd. 1
Franiss 1
Frank 1
George 1
Harry 1
Henry 1
Jas. 1
Marten 1
Mickell 1
Timothy 1
Vivian 1
Will 1

FAQ

Kennelly surname: questions and answers

How common was the Kennelly surname in 1881?

In 1881, 157 people were recorded with the Kennelly surname. That placed it at #15,046 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Kennelly surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 469 in 2016. That gives Kennelly a modern rank of #10,491.

What does the Kennelly surname mean?

Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cinnfhaolaidh, meaning "descendant of Cennfhaolaidh," a personal name of uncertain etymology.

What does the Kennelly map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Kennelly bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.