Historical distribution of the Kennedy surname

There are some historical maps of the distribution of the Kennedy surname on my webpage here:

http://www.kennedydna.com/distribution.html

they cover Ireland Scotland and England although using different data so not exactly the same periods. The migration patterns they show should be fairly self-evident, for example Ireland shows two strong areas, one around Tipperary where the native Irish Kennedy name emerged and one around the north coastal areas where lowland Scots settled.

In Scotland too there are two main groups, one in the south west where the Scottish chief's family originated from and one fanning out from Lochaber in the Highlands. Tradition has it that these groups connect but the documentary proof is lacking.

There is also some map coverage of England which shows typical mixed Irish/Scottish immigrant settlement patterns. Usually both groups came to the same areas for the same kind of work so they tend to mix, even Liverpool has some Scottish Kennedys although they are stronger in Manchester.

At some stage I may come up with some equivalent maps for the new world, if they show any pattern of interest.

Iain Kennedy