'Kennington' is thought to mean the farm or estate of a man called Cēna.
The Domesday Book of 1086 records it as Chenintune; later spellings are Kenintone in 1229 and Kenyngton in 1263. Like Kensington, it probably comes from the name of a local landowner. Another explanation is that it means 'place of the King' or 'town of the King'.