McKenney Last Name Facts and Heraldry

McKenney is best understood together with McKinney: both are Ulster and Scottish spellings of a single family name. At root, the name means “Son of Cionaodh (Kenneth)”.

• According to the 2010 US Census, the McKenney surname had 7,265 bearers. It sits among the 5,000 most common last names in the country.
• Similar-sounding surnames on Herald Lab: McKenna and MacKenna.
• Related forms: MacKinney and McKinny.
• Census takers and immigration officers often wrote what they heard.
• Spelled with “e” instead of “i”, McKenney shows how the same name was heard and written differently.

Family crest and blazon

There is no single McKenney family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were. Want more than a summary? See the McKenney family name pack.