Given name & surname
Kilian
“a warrior woman; of the church”·“one who is small and fierce”
Kilian is a variant of Killian. Interpretations include “a warrior woman; of the church” (Irish) and “one who is small and fierce”. These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original IrishCillian
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kilian is a variant of Killian. Interpretations include “a warrior woman; of the church” (Irish) and “one who is small and fierce”. These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1970. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kilian through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,717
- 2,690 boys · 27 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 212 babies
- 2025
- 177
- #1,167 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +22%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 177 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,167 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (27). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,715 as a first name in 2020; 2,734 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kilian’s family of names
In Swedish usage, Kilian has a later derivative in Kiilunen. Kilian has a related form in Killian. In German usage, Kilian was borrowed from the Irish form Cillian.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kilian has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Kilian comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Kilian
- Saint KilianGerman-Irish saint640–689
- Kilian Le BlouchFrench judokaborn 1989
- Kilian FrankinySwiss cyclistborn 1994
- Kilian AlbrechtAustrian alpine skierborn 1973
- Kilian StobæusSwedish physician (1690-1742)
- Kilian LudewigGerman association football playerborn 2000
- Kilian FischhuberAustrian rock climberborn 1983
- Kilian PatourFrench bicycle racerborn 1982
- Kilian FischerGerman footballerborn 2000
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kilian, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Kian
“from an ancient family”
>99% boys
Callaghan
Callaghan is a masculine given name from Irish.
85% boys · 15% girls
Calahan
Calahan is a surname from Irish.
>99% boys
Callahan
Callahan is a masculine given name from Irish.
90% boys · 10% girls
Keagan
“small and fiery woman” · “a small and fiery man”
80% boys · 20% girls
Kade
“from the wetlands”
99% boys · 1% girls
Quill
“descendant of Coll”
95% boys · 5% girls
Lachlann
“loch” · “place of”
>99% boys