Cillian?

[babydue2025]

What do you think? We're both English living in England for context, but with Irish heritage and an Irish surname.

Have come across a little Cillian but spelt Killian and he was a joy!

I like it. Can be C or a K. A K is the more anglasised version and maybe less prone to mispronounciation.

I know the Killian pronunciation makes the pronunciation clearer, but I really don't like it as much. The K feels so much harsher than the C to me for some reason!

I'm from the north of England. When spoken the name sounds like Silly Un. As in silly one - person. I guess you already factored that in and don't mind, but to me it's a no go for that reason

I like it.

I was going to say Cillian Murphy has made the pronunciation less of an issue, but the previous poster has already proved me wrong.

I’ve got one and he gets loads of compliments and people seem to really like it. Most people know how to pronounce it because of Cillian Murphy - you get the odd person who thinks it might be ‘Silly’ but you just correct them and it’s no big deal.

I took way too long to type as you’ve already said ot!

Only if you pronounce it wrong...

I really like it

You're saying it wrong.... its kill-e-ann .

I don't think I could call my kid a name beginning with kill so it wouldn't be for me.

It doesn’t. It’s a hard c.

Thank you! I never knew. I thought it was the S sound. Guess that makes me the Silly Un! Feel like a dope now

Are you suggesting to pronounce it "Sillian"? In which case then absolutely not!

Oh no, I meant to say that the Killian spelling makes the pronunciation clearer, but clearly wasn't paying enough attention when I replied! I'd pronounce Killian and Cillian the same, but prefer the Cillian spelling.

It does not have an s sound

I love Cillain.

This always comes up on a Cillian thread and someone always says 'do you feel the same about Diana'.

Lovely name, not that I'm biased😉
If you want to stay traditional then use the C (as there is no K in the Irish alphabet) and as others have said most people, due to Cillian Murphy, will be familiar with how it is correctly pronounced

I thought it was pronounced Shilleen

i live under a rock

I love it, it was second on my list. If I had another boy it'd be my first choice.

Nope for me. I can see the attraction thanks to a certain actor, but I still struggle to understand why anyone would pick a name that sounds like a cross between the word “Kill” and the female names Gillian/Lillian, when there are so many similar but nicer sounding Irish boys names out there - cool Cormac?, classic Aidan? (and yes, I usually do feel the same about the “Die” sound in Diana - I assume that’s why it’s underused too).

It’s a (Irish) Surname, but maybe similar Callahan instead? Has the benefit of lovely diminutive Cal then too. Or if it’s the “ilian” bit you like, then I think international classic Maximilian is surprisingly underused (as long as you don’t mind the inevitable Max shortening).

I'm Irish, like it, always have, and Cillian Murphy has made the pronunciation fairly well-known. It's nothing to do with the word 'kill', and never has been.

I'm Irish and like it, but only with the C.

For those talking about "kill", cill is the Irish word for church, and so is a common first syllable in Irish placenames such as Kilkenny.

All the teens round here call each other by the first syllable of their names, so I’d be worried he’d be known as “Kill” in secondary school if he lived near us! Shame as it’s a great name otherwise.