The 61-year-old former Rector of St Mary's College in Birmingham will be succeeding Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, who transferred to Liverpool last year.
This appointment means that there are now no dioceses in England and Wales that require Catholic bishops.
But there will be a vacancy for a new Bishop of the Forces, which ministers to serving or deployed UK personnel in the armed forces, when Bishop Richard Moth is installed in Arundel and Brighton later this month.
Monsignor Patrick McKinney was ordained in 1978 for the Archdiocese of Birmingham and has held a variety of positions.
He previously acted as parish priest, episcopal vicar, theology tutor and school chaplain. He is an expert in church theology.
He said: " I am deeply conscious of the rich legacy left by my predecessors as bishop, especially Bishop Malcolm McMahon, now Archbishop of Liverpool.
"I know a little of the diocesan You Are Living Stones parish renewal programme which he had begun, encouraging everyone in the diocese to work together in serving the missionary outreach of the Church, and I will do my best to build upon this."
The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, said: "Monsignor McKinney's many years as parish priest and local dean and his skills as a theologian and teacher will equip him well in leading the diocese of Nottingham into the coming Jubilee Year of Mercy.
"As an accomplished hill-walker I am sure he will come to love the landscapes of his new diocese as much as the counties of Worcestershire and Staffordshire that he knows so well."
