Found it interesting that Sen. John Kennedy (LA) isn't really a Kennedy.

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Pres. JFK's family is Irish Catholic, unrelated to Scottish Kennedys.

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While told not to cite Wiki in college...

There have been several different etymologies given for the surname. One explanation is that the name is an Anglicisation of Ó Cinnéide, which means "grandson of Cinnédidh" or "grandson of Cinnéidigh". Both of these personal names are derived from Gaelic words meaning "helmet-headed".[1] Ceanéidigh could be related to the old Gaelic name Cennétig, which is known from Cennétig mac Lorcáin, the father of the Irish high king Brian mac Cennétig, who was also known as Brian Bóruma or Brian Boru. It is worth noting that there is also an Irish Kennedy family and a Scottish Kennedy clan in Carrick, Ayrshire, which are unrelated to one another.

Another possibility is that Kennedy is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Ó Ceannéidigh, meaning "grandson of Ceannéidigh". Ceannéidigh is a given name derived from the Gaelic words ceann, meaning "head", and éidigh, meaning "ugly" or "fierce".[2] Some etymologies also suggest that the element ceann could mean "chief" or "leader".[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_(surname)

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According to genealogist Brian Kennedy in his work JFK's Irish O'Kennedy Ancestors, the Kennedys who would go on to play a significant role in the United States of America, originated from an Irish clan called Ó Cinnéide Fionn (one of the three Irish Gaelic Ó Cinnéide clans who ruled the kingdom of Ormond, along with the Ó Cinnéide Donn and Ó Cinnéide Ruadh). Their progenitor, Diarmaid Ó Cinnéide Fionn, held Knigh Castle close to what is today Puckane, County Tipperary in 1546. From there, having lost out to the New English order in the Kingdom of Ireland, they ended up in Dunganstown, New Ross, County Wexford by 1740. Patrick Kennedy was born there in 1823.

Patrick Kennedy (1823–1858) and Bridget Murphy (1824–1888) sailed from Ireland to East Boston in 1849. Patrick worked in East Boston as a barrel maker, or cooper,[3] and had five children with Bridget. Their youngest, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy, went into business and served in the Massachusetts state legislature from 1884 to 1895.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_family

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