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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Kylian

128 replies

sunqueen97 · 13/12/2023 21:37

Thoughts?

OP posts:
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Hohofortherobbers · 13/12/2023 22:50

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks of the baddie in running man. Grin

Sandysandwich · 13/12/2023 22:53

In english Kylian doesn't scan as 'Killian' so I wouldn't use it as a alternate spelling.
Cillian is a known name, I wouldn't change the spelling to one that is way less recognised.
Killian is the anglisised spelling but Cillian works fine in english.

I knew a Febe (pronounced Phoebe) growing up, and the fact it is a name in greek did not stop people guessing her name as Feh-Beh or Feh-bee or Feeb because Febe doesn't scan in english and she was not greek. The same way someone not familiar with the footballer will read Kyle-Ian.

Quartz2208 · 13/12/2023 22:53

Given it is babycenters fastest growing name of 2023 I think people will learn how to use it.

strictly no it isn’t the French version that has an i not a y. But 24 years ago the z bales used that spelling and now is it becoming a popular name. Which actually is quite fascinating when you think about it the impact someone can have

WhereIsBebèsChambre · 13/12/2023 22:54

Hohofortherobbers · 13/12/2023 22:50

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks of the baddie in running man. Grin

Are you saying it in Arnie's voice too? 😄

UneFoisAuChalet · 13/12/2023 22:59

TomatoSandwiches · 13/12/2023 22:00

It's just the French variant, if you have French roots go for it however Cillian is the original celtic spelling and would be better recognised in the UK, well, everywhere tbh.

I’m French and I pronounce Mbappe’s first name completely different than ‘Cillian’ in English.
If the kid lives in England, he’ll spend his life saying ‘it’s Cillian but spelt like the PSG player.’ If you’re a fan of French foot players how about Eric, Zinedine, Thierry…

mikado1 · 13/12/2023 23:11

Saw it and thought Mbappé! Definitely knew how to pronounce but... if it's not actually correct spelling itself, I don't think I'd go with it. Cillian is the nicest spelling imo, but I'm Irish! 😉

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:18

It’s not a ‘French variant’ - it’s the name of one French bloke. It’s a younique spelling of Cillian

Actually, Kylian was already ranked 77th in the most popular boys' names in France in 2015, ahead of very well-known names like Raphael, Jean, Joseph, Pierre etc. Before Mbappe was world-renowned, I think.

SabrinaThwaite · 13/12/2023 23:19

I knew a little French Kylian - it wasn’t pronounced like Cillian.

MaraScottie · 13/12/2023 23:23

Cillian or nothing.

Kylian is horrendous.

NotExactlySuits · 13/12/2023 23:29

Kylian to English speakers reads kye-lian

To French speakers more like kee-lya(n) (not doing an amazing job of writing it phonetically but imagine it in a French accent).

Cillian or Kilian are much nicer and English speakers will be able to pronounce it.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:31

I knew a little French Kylian - it wasn’t pronounced like Cillian.

It's still a variant of the same name though. Hélène is pronounced differently from Helen. Louis (in France) is pronounced differently from Lewis.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 13/12/2023 23:33

Sunshineismyfavourite · 13/12/2023 21:42

I've heard of Cillian (Kill - ian) - Irish name - Cillian Murphy actor which is a lovely name. But Kylian (Ky - leeun?) How are you pronouncing it? It doesn't work for me.

Cillian is pronounced Kill-y-in, not Kill-Ian.

I would assume kylian is pronounced Kyle-y-in

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:33

Kylian to English speakers reads kye-lian

Not to this English speaker. Dylan isn't pronounced 'dye-lan'.

Lorelaigilless · 13/12/2023 23:33

sunqueen97 · 13/12/2023 21:43

It's pronounced the same as Cillian just spelt differently

Absolutely awful. Use Cillian.

theduchessofspork · 13/12/2023 23:35

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:18

It’s not a ‘French variant’ - it’s the name of one French bloke. It’s a younique spelling of Cillian

Actually, Kylian was already ranked 77th in the most popular boys' names in France in 2015, ahead of very well-known names like Raphael, Jean, Joseph, Pierre etc. Before Mbappe was world-renowned, I think.

Yep, and Jaxon is in the UK top 100

Doesn’t make it a good option

NotExactlySuits · 13/12/2023 23:37

Not to this English speaker. Dylan isn't pronounced 'dye-lan'

Right... Just me and the loads of other posters on this thread then.

Kylian and Dylan are not the same in any event. Are you honestly saying if you saw Kylan you'd pronounce it Killan? To rhyme with Dylan? Honestly?

RestingMurderousFace · 13/12/2023 23:39

Kylie- Anne.

No.

BarelyCoping123 · 13/12/2023 23:42

No

SabrinaThwaite · 13/12/2023 23:45

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:31

I knew a little French Kylian - it wasn’t pronounced like Cillian.

It's still a variant of the same name though. Hélène is pronounced differently from Helen. Louis (in France) is pronounced differently from Lewis.

It might be a variation but the one I knew did not have the same pronunciation as Cillian - just like your examples are variants with different spellings and pronunciations.

Who calls their child Hélène and then pronounces it Helen?

ChateauDuMont · 13/12/2023 23:45

Ablondiebutagoody · 13/12/2023 21:39

Horrific

This.

Lorelaigilless · 13/12/2023 23:46

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 23:31

I knew a little French Kylian - it wasn’t pronounced like Cillian.

It's still a variant of the same name though. Hélène is pronounced differently from Helen. Louis (in France) is pronounced differently from Lewis.

Louis is also pronounced differently to Lewis in the Uk…

Snugglemonkey · 13/12/2023 23:47

It is fucking horrific. I know that sounds awful, but it is the complete bastardisation of a beautiful Irish name and an insult to Irish people. It is offensive actually.

Snugglemonkey · 13/12/2023 23:52

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 13/12/2023 22:13

I'm not a fan of Cillian or Kylian particularly, but I certainly would have known to pronounce them both as 'Killian'. A quick Google shows that there are lots of spelling variants of this name, going back a long way, many of them starting with a 'k'. In fact, Wikipedia says the name originated from St Kilian, an Irish missionary to Germany in the 7th Century. Pronouncing the beginning of Kylian as 'Ki', not 'Kye' is surely hardly surprising. It's pronounced like the 'y' in Dylan or Lynn. The 'Kylian' variant is pretty popular in France. People on MN do love to jump to conclusions about names though.

There is no k in the Irish language.

Marcipex · 13/12/2023 23:54

Won’t the bullies call him Kylie?

NoraLuka · 13/12/2023 23:59

There are lots of Kylian/Kilian in France, I’m not sure if it’s popular for babies now but it’s the kind of name where there’s at least one per class in high schools. Definitely pre-dates Mbappé becoming well known.