Boy's name

Cinnéididh

“kin-AY-dee”

ceann, 'head', and éide, 'armour': 'helmeted head'

CinnéidighCennétigKennedy

Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

The story behind the name

The name of Brian Boru's father: Cennétig mac Lorcáin, king of the Dál gCais, who died in 951 and raised his dynasty from regional vassals to contenders for the kingship of Munster. Woulfe says the name was still in use among the O'Briens and gives Kennedy as its English form.

Quick answers

How do you pronounce Cinnéididh?

Cinnéididh is pronounced “kin-AY-dee”. Irish has three main dialect groups (Ulster, Connacht and Munster) and many names are said differently in each. The respellings here give the pronunciation most commonly heard in Irish English; where a well-known variant exists, both are shown.

What does the name Cinnéididh mean?

Cinnéididh means ceann, 'head', and éide, 'armour': 'helmeted head'.

Is Cinnéididh a boy's or a girl's name?

Cinnéididh is traditionally a boy's name in Ireland.

How else is Cinnéididh spelled?

Other spellings and equivalents include Cinnéidigh, Cennétig, Kennedy. Irish names were written down by English-speaking clerks for centuries, which is why so many spellings survive for one name.

Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z