Killian

KillianorKilian, as a given name, is an Anglicized version of the Irish name Cillian. The name Cillian was borne by several early Irish saints including missionaries to Artois (France) and Franconia (Germany) and the author of the life of St Brigid.^[1]

Killian
Language(s)	Irish
Origin
Meaning	Possibly 'Little Church'; alternatively a dinimutive form of a name meaming 'Strife', 'War', or 'Bright-headed'
Region of origin	Ireland
Other names
Variant form(s)	Ó Cillín, Cillian, Kilian, Kiliaen, Kilian, Killion, Kileen, Kylian, Cilléne, Cillín; possibly Ceallach

The name is said to derive from Saint Kilian, an Irish missionary to Germany in the 7th century, who, according to the Acta Sanctorum, was born in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland c. 640. He departed for his mission to the continent with 12 apostles from Kilmacologue in the parish of Tuosist, County Kerry, Ireland.^[2] In 689, he was martyred in Würzburg, now in Bavaria, and subsequently became the city's patron saint.

The most likely meaning of the name is 'little church', a reference to someone prayerful or spiritual, cill meaning 'church' in the Irish language, while the suffix -ín is used affectionately to indicate a "pet" or diminutive status.^[3] Patrick Woulfe wrote that Cillian is a diminutive of Ceallach which means 'war', 'strife', or 'bright-headed'.^[4]

Cillian Buckley (born 1992), an Irish hurler
Cillian Farrell (born 1977), an Irish hurling manager
Cillian McDaid (born 1997), an Irish Gaelic and Australian rules footballer
Cillian Morrison, an Irish Gaelic footballer
Cillian Murphy (born 1976), an Irish actor
Cillian O'Connor (born 1992), a Gaelic footballer for Mayo
Cillian Ryan, an economist and Pro Vice-Chancellor International, Nottingham Trent University
Cillian Sheridan (born 1987), an Irish professional footballer who plays for Kilmarnock
Cillian Twomey, a retired consultant physician in geriatric medicine at Cork University and St. Finbarr’s Hospital, Cork, Ireland
Cillian Vallely, an Irish musician
Cillian Willis (born 1985), a professional rugby union footballer employed by Leinster Rugby

Killian Brady (born 1990), an Irish Gaelic footballer
Killian Brennan, an Irish footballer with the League of Ireland club St Patrick's Athletic
Killian Clarke (born 1993), an Irish Gaelic footballer
Killian Dain, ring name of Northern Irish professional wrestler Damian Mackle
Killian Donnelly, an Irish-born musical theatre performer
Aldrich Killian, supervillain and main antagonist of Iron Man 3
Dan A. Killian, American college sports coach
Edwin Henry Killian (1876–1928), a Major League Baseball pitcher primarily of the Detroit Tigers
Eugene H. Killian (1873–1943), an American politician
George E. Killian, a sports administrator and the president of the International University Sports Federation
Gustav Killian (1860–1921), a German laryngologist for whom Killian's dehiscence is named
James Rhyne Killian (1904–1988), the 11th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jerry B. Killian, an officer in the Texas Air National Guard in the early 1970s, to whom Lieutenant George W. Bush was a subordinate
Richard Killian, an American businessman and politician
Robert K. Killian (1919–2005), an American politician from the state of Connecticut
Killian Scott, an Irish actor
Killian K. Van Rensselaer (1763–1845), member of the United States House of Representatives from New York
Killian Peier, Swiss ski jumper, 2019 World Championships medalist
Killian Tillie (born 1998), French basketball player
Killian Hayes (born 2001), American–French basketball player

Saint Kilian, an Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of Franconia
Kilian Elkinson (born 1990), Bermudian footballer
Kílian Jornet Burgada, a Spanish ski mountaineer, long-distance runner, mountain biker and duathlete
Kilian Zierer (born 2000), German-born American football player
André Kilian, a German-born footballer playing for North Queensland Fury
Caleb Kilian (born 1997), American baseball player
Crawford Kilian, a Canadian novelist and a college professor
Hanns Kilian (1905–1981), a German bobsledder who competed from the late 1920s to the late 1930
Inge Kilian (born 1935), a German high jumper
John Kilian (1811–1884), a Lutheran pastor and leader of the colony known as the Wends of Texas
Michael Kilian (1939–2005), author and journalist primarily for the Chicago Tribune in Washington, D.C
Victor Kilian (1891–1979), an American actor blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio in the 1950s
Wiesław Kilian, a Polish politician

Kylian Hazard, a Belgian footballer
Kylian Mash (born 1983), French DJ and record producer
Kylian Mbappé, a French footballer

John Joseph Killion (1859–1937), known as Jake Kilrain, a famous bare knuckle fighter and glove boxer of the 1880s
Kyle Killion, an American football linebacker
Redley A. Killion, a Micronesian politician
Sean Killion, an American swimmer
Tom Killion, an American politician from Pennsylvania

^ Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1990), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, p. 193

^ "GENUKI: Tuosist". homepage.eircom.net.

^ Patrick Weston Joyce (1869). The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places, Volume 1. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

^ Patrick Woulfe (1923). "Cillian". Irish Names and Surnames. Retrieved 28 July 2011.

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Contents

Notable people named Cillian

Notable people named Killian

Notable people named Kilian

Notable people named Kylian

Notable people named Killion

References

Languages