Cillian

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 10 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Cillian is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name450 records spelled Cillian3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Ireland, Argentina, Spain, United States

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Cillián

41 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Cillian is also recorded in 2 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Origine celtique, « église ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• Irish: Gaelic name often Anglicized as KILLIAN . It was originally a byname representing a diminutive form of Gaelic ceallach strife, or possibly derived from Gaelic ceall monastery, church ( cf . KELLY ), and was borne by various early Irish saints, including the 7th-century author of a life of St Bridget and missionaries to Artois and Franconia. Variant: Cillín .

  as a word

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

GB NISRA — Baby names Northern Ireland full list (1997–present) — 29 years between 1997–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Cillian Vallelyb. 1972GBIrish musician
• Cillian Murphyb. 1976IEIrish actor (born 1976)
• Cillian Farrellb. 1977IEIrish hurler and Gaelic footballer
• Cillian Lordanb. 1982IEIrish footballer
• Cillian Willisb. 1985IEIrish rugby union player
• Cillian Sheridanb. 1989IEIrish footballer
• Cillian O'Connorb. 1992IEGaelic footballer
• Cillian Buckleyb. 1992IEIrish hurler
• Cillian O'Gairbhiactor
• Cillian Forderesearcher

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 211 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Cillian?

We estimate roughly 1.6 thousand people bear Cillian (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Cillian have the most bearers?

Cillian is most frequently recorded in Ireland, where it is most often spelled cillian.

How common is Cillian compared with other names?

In Ireland, Cillian is the 108th most common given name of 13,994 given names recorded there.

Is Cillian a male or female name?

Cillian is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Cillian mean?

Recorded meaning: Irish Gaelic name, possibly from ceall 'church'; etymology debated.