Cillian
Top 1000
About Cillian
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.
Pronounced KIL-ee-un.
As of October 2026, Cillian ranked #507 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #463 in 2024, Nameberry popularity #129.
Editor's take: The name Cillian is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "war strife or church".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,733 | 87 | 45.3 |
| 2015 | #1,418 | 121 | 63.1 |
| 2016 | #1,107 | 177 | 93.3 |
| 2017 | #1,126 | 170 | 91.8 |
| 2018 | #1,051 | 193 | 106.3 |
| 2019 | #1,077 | 186 | 103.7 |
| 2020 | #957 | 228 | 132.1 |
| 2021 | #749 | 340 | 194.3 |
| 2022 | #737 | 352 | 201.6 |
| 2023 | #594 | 476 | 278.3 |
| 2024 | #463 | 668 | 387.7 |
| 2025 | #507 | 595 | 348.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Cillian.
- Stellan
- Finnian
- Eamon
- Auden
- Agustus
- Cian
- Evander
- Alden
- Ansel
- Arden
- Ciaran
- Leander
- Emrys
- Torin
- Asa
- Leif
- Ronan
- Alastair
- Elio
- Lachlan
Cillian on lists
Famous Cillians
- Cillian Murphy
Irish actor
- Cillian Sheridan
Irish footballer
- Cillian Vallely
Irish musician of band Lunasa
Cillian in pop culture
- Cillian Boyd
character in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness