Cillian

KILL-ee-an

Irish

"war strife or church"

Cillian Origin and Meaning

The name Cillian is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "war strife or church".

Cillian is one of the native Irish names that, along with Aiden and Declan, is becoming an unlikely favorite in contemporary America. The Killian spelling has been more popular in the US, but Cillian's star is rising, perhaps thanks to Irish actor Cillian Murphy, star of Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders.

There are several Saint Cillians, including one who was sent to Bavaria to convert the natives and was martyred for his trouble.

Patrick Woulfe, a Catholic priest who was instrumental in reviving native Irish names in that country after the war for independence from England in the 1920s, theorized that Cillian might also be related to a Gaelic name meaning war.

Cillian Rank in US Top 1000

# 593 in the US

Cillian Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 189 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Cillian

• 593 US 2023
• 189 Nameberry 2025
• 74 Unique 2019
• 716 Future 2028
• 204 England 2023
• 99 Scotland 2023
• 4 Ireland 2024

20 Names Similar to Cillian

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Cillian.

• Stellan
• Evander
• Finnian
• Cian
• Eamon
• Ciaran
• Auden
• Emrys
• Leander
• Ansel
• Ronan
• Arden
• Alden
• Torin
• Alaric
• Elio
• Asa
• Caius
• Alastair
• Lachlan

Famous People Named Cillian

• Cillian Murphy Irish actor
• Cillian Sheridan Irish footballer
• Cillian Vallely Irish musician of band Lunasa

The name Cillian in Pop Culture

• Cillian Boyd character in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness