Boy's name
Cillian
“KIL-ee-an”
IPA: /cɪˈlʲiən̪ˠ/
possibly from cill, 'church', or ceall, 'little warrior'; disputed
The story behind the name
St Cillian of Würzburg left Ireland in the 7th century to preach in Franconia and was murdered there for telling a duke his marriage was unlawful; he is patron of the Bavarian city still. The actor Cillian Murphy has spent a career correcting the pronunciation.
Where the name belongs
Famous people with this name
- Cillian Murphy (born 1976) — Irish actor
- Cillian Sheridan (born 1989) — Irish footballer
- Cillian Vallely (born 1972) — Irish musician
- Cillian O'Connor (born 1992) — Gaelic footballer
- Cillian Buckley (born 1992) — Irish hurler
Irish people with an English Wikipedia article whose given name is recorded as Cillian on Wikidata; descriptions from Wikidata.
Surnames built on this name
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z