Parent’s name
McKinney surname meaning
An Anglicized Scottish or Irish patronymic from Gaelic Mac Cionaodha, Mac Cionaoith, or Mac Coinnigh.
The short story
McKinney is an Anglicized Scottish or Irish patronymic. It can represent Gaelic Mac Cionaodha or Mac Cionaoith, “son of” an early personal name, and in northern Ireland it can represent Mac Coinnigh, “son of Coinneach.” Kinney, MacKinney, McKinnie, and MacKenney show the spelling choices made in English records. These Gaelic routes are related in sound and history but do not prove one common ancestor. Parent’s name is the high-confidence catalog type because Mac explicitly marks descent from a personal name. The exact Gaelic source remains family-specific.
Also seen as: MacKinney, Kinney, McKinnie, MacKenney
Sources used
- Ancestry, Dictionary of American Family Names entry 'McKinney' (Gaelic patronymic routes)
- Geneanet, 'McKinney' surname entry (Mac Cionaodha, Mac Cionaoith, and Mac Coinnigh)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)