Find out how popular the last name Killion is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Killion.

Killion, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Killion surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Killion in America

Killion is the 6799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Killion surname appeared 4,960 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Killion.

We can also compare 2010 data for Killion to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Killion

The surname Killion is of Irish origin, with its roots traced back to the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Bréifne, which encompassed parts of modern-day counties Leitrim and Cavan. The name is derived from the Irish Gaelic "Ó Cillín," meaning "descendant of Cillín," a personal name meaning "little church" or "small monastery."

The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 12th century, when a certain Domhnall Ó Cillín was mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. This suggests that the Ó Cillín family held a prominent position in the region during that time.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in the Fiants of the Tudor Conquest, a collection of official documents from the reign of the Tudor monarchs in Ireland. This record mentions a grant of land to a Donough O'Killion in the county of Cavan.

One of the most notable figures bearing the Killion surname was Edmond Killion, a 17th-century Irish Catholic priest and historian. He authored the "Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Compendium," a comprehensive history of the Catholic Church in Ireland during the turbulent period of the Reformation.

Another prominent individual was Patrick Killion, an Irish revolutionary who fought alongside Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. He was captured and executed for his role in the rebellion.

In the 19th century, James Killion (1815-1887) was a successful businessman and entrepreneur from County Cavan who established a thriving shipping company in Liverpool, England.

The Killion surname has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Killionmore and Killioneen, which are derived from the Irish words "cill" (church) and the family name itself.

Over the centuries, the spelling of the name has varied, with alternative forms including O'Killion, O'Killin, Killin, and Killian. However, the core meaning and lineage of the name have remained unchanged, tracing back to the ancient Irish kingdom of Bréifne and the descendants of Cillín.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Killion

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Killion.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Killion was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Killion has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Killion was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Killion, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!