Etymograph

English

Kenneth

Kenneth comes from Old Irish áed ‘fire’, and goes back to Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ.

  1. Pictishmodern*ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇCiniodreconstructed
  2. Old Irishc. 600–900áed‘fire’
  3. Old Irish, derivedc. 600–900Cináed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1825Kenneth

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Pictishmodern*ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇCiniodreconstructed
  2. Old Irishc. 600–900áed‘fire’
  3. Old Irish, derivedc. 600–900Cináed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1825Kenneth

Earliest quotation: 1825, Sir Walter Scott: “Know, however, that among the soldiers of the Cross…”

The story

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.

Every English word from Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ

Today it means

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

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Pictish *ᚉᚔᚅᚔᚑᚇ / Kenneth

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