Given name & surname
Cillian
“one who suffers strife”
Cillian is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “one who suffers strife.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “one who suffers strife.”
Where it comes from
Cillian possibly comes from Proto-Indo-European.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat, strike”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1995. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cillian through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,090
- 4,084 boys · 6 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 674 babies
- 2025
- 595
- #507 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +156%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 595 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 507 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 155.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (60). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,410 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cillian’s family of names
Cillian has a related form in Cillin. In Irish usage, Cillian has a related form in Cillín.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Cillian has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Cillian comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Cillian
- Cillian MurphyIrish actor (born 1976)
- Cillian SheridanIrish footballerborn 1989
- Cillian VallelyIrish musicianborn 1972
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cillian, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kian
“from an ancient family”
>99% boys
Finnegan
“a fair-haired man”
99% boys · 1% girls
Callahan
Callahan is a masculine given name from Irish.
90% boys · 10% girls
Lochlan
“from the land of the lochs” · “from the land of lakes”
97% boys · 3% girls
Kallan
“of the flowing water” · “powerful in battle”
83% boys · 17% girls
Cian
“from an ancient family”
>99% boys
Senan
“the people's hero”
>99% boys
Rogan
“a red-haired man”
93% boys · 7% girls