MCKENDRY
Recorded variant spellings include Mc Kendry, Mckendry
McKendry is a family name that originates from the British Isles and is principally associated with Ireland and Scotland. The name is derived from the Gaelic patronymic Mac Eanraig, which literally means “son of Henry.”
The personal name Henry itself is of Germanic origin, formed from the elements heim “home” and ric “power.” As such, the surname McKendry indicates descent from a male ancestor whose given name was Henry and who was thought of as a ruler of the household or of an estate.
The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 introduced the form Henri into the English language. From this point the spelling spread across Britain and into Scotland and Ireland, where it gradually adopted local forms such as McHenry and the Ulster variant McKendry.
In Scotland the surname has yielded a number of orthographic variants, including McHendry, McHendrie, McHendrick and McKendrick. The appearance of the prefix Mac or Mc is a clear signal that the name is a patronymic, a naming practice that first entered Scottish records in the tenth century.
Records of early bearers of the name are found in several surviving registers. In 1370 the name first appears in the form John McHenri, who is described as the lord of Koylyan. Other documented instances include Mary McKindrie, who married John Lawson on 15 November 1631; George McHendry, christened on 31 August 1701 as the son of Robert and Janet Forraster; and Helen McHenry, christened on 5 March 1812 as the daughter of Andrew and Jane Lundie.1 The novelist and poet James McHenry (1785-1845) also appears in contemporary registers.
Emigration has played a significant role in the spread of the surname. A notable example is Mary Mckendry, who left Liverpool aboard the ship Marmion bound for New York on 25 May 1846. Such journeys contributed to the appearance of the name in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Today, the surname remains strongest in countries with large populations of people of Scottish and Irish heritage, notably the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Northern Ireland. Its continued use reflects strong cultural and linguistic links to its Gaelic and Germanic roots.
Typical given names associated with the McKendry surname
Male
- Alan
- Alexander
- Andrew
- Daniel
- David
- James
- John
- Patrick
- Paul
- Robert
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Karen
- Lisa
- Margaret
- Mary
- Ruth
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname McKendry in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 759 people named McKendry in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,127th most common surname in Britain. Around 12 in a million people in Britain are named McKendry.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named McKendry
- James McKendry - Irish artist
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.