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

Killian or Kilian, 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 and Franconia and the author of the life of St Brigid.[1]

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, Franconia, Germany, 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]

Notable people named Cillian

Notable people named Killian

Notable people named Kilian

  • 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
  • André Kilian, a German-born footballer currently 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

Notable people named Kylian

Notable people named Killion

References

  1. Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1990), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, p. 193
  2. "GENUKI: Tuosist". homepage.eircom.net.
  3. Patrick Weston Joyce (1869). The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places, Volume 1. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  4. Patrick Woulfe (1923). "Cillian". Irish Names and Surnames. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
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