Killian
Masculine given name of Irish origin meaning "bright-headed" or "bright-headed lad".
Name Census estimates that about 15,886 living Americans carry the first name Killian. It sits at #369 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (96.3% of registrations). The average person named Killian today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Killian births was 2017 (1,527 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Killian. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Killian is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 600 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Killian is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 21,576 Americans
Peak year
2017
1,527 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#369
Tracked since 1915
Gender
Gender distribution for Killian
Killian leans heavily male at 96.3% of total registrations, but 600 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Killian as a male name
- Ranked #369 in 2024
- 884 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (1,505 births)
Killian as a female name
- Ranked #8,687 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1997 (33 births)
Popularity
Killian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Killian from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 8,061 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Killian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Killian by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Killian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Killians live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Killian, while Rhode Island, Delaware, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 273 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Killian
The name Killian has its origins in the Celtic and Gaelic languages, derived from the Irish word "cill," meaning church or monastery. It first emerged as a personal name in Ireland during the early medieval period, around the 5th or 6th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Killian can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle that dates back to the 15th century. The Annals mention a Killian mac Dregain, who was the abbot of the monastery at Iona in the late 7th century.
The name Killian gained wider recognition with the life of Saint Killian, an Irish missionary who lived in the 7th century. He is known for his efforts in spreading Christianity in the Franconian region of modern-day Germany. Saint Killian was martyred around 689 AD and is venerated as the patron saint of the diocese of Würzburg.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Killian was popular among Irish and Scottish families, particularly those with connections to monastic communities or religious orders. One notable historical figure with this name was Killian of Leinsker, a 12th-century Irish poet and cleric.
As the name spread across Europe, it evolved into various spellings and forms, such as Kilian, Kilián, and Kiliaan. In the 16th century, the Dutch painter Kiliaan Rombouts (1599-1655) gained recognition for his religious works and portraits.
Another famous bearer of the name was Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer (1689-1751), a Bavarian architect who designed numerous churches and palaces in the Baroque style, including the Monastery of Banz and the Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren.
In more recent times, the name Killian has been associated with notable figures like Killian Jordan (1904-1989), an Irish politician and member of the Dáil Éireann, and Killian Mullarney (born 1949), an Irish ornithologist and author known for his contributions to bird field guides.
While the name Killian has maintained a presence throughout history, its popularity has waxed and waned in different regions and cultures. Its enduring connection to religious and monastic traditions, however, remains a significant aspect of its rich historical significance.
People
Killian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Killian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Killian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Killian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 15,886 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Killian going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 21,576 US residents.
Is Killian a common name?
We classify Killian as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,046 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Killian most popular?
The single biggest year for Killian was 2017, when 1,527 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Killian is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Killian a male name?
Yes, 96.3% of people registered as Killian in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.