How to say it
KIL · i · an
/ˈkɪl.i.ən/
Masculine
Killian
Little church, or strife
What it means
The anglicized Irish Cillian, from cill ('church') or a root meaning 'strife.'
Killian is the anglicized form of the Irish Cillian, usually traced to cill, 'church,' with an alternate root suggesting 'strife.' St. Killian was a 7th-century Irish missionary martyred in Bavaria, where he is still honored. It has a warm, rolling Irish sound and a beery namesake in Killian's Irish Red. The Cillian spelling, as in actor Cillian Murphy, is the Irish original.
Popularity over time
peaked at #248 in 2017, currently #418 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Killian and Cillian are the same name; Cillian Murphy says it KILL-ee-an.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- St. Killian 7th-century Irish missionary, patron of Würzburg
Spelling variants
- Cillian
- Killion
- Kilian
Names with the same feeling
See Killian from another angle
By style