Head to head · Boys' names
Cillian vs Corbin
#507 vs #512 in 2025
Cillian is a whisker ahead (#507 vs #512 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Cillian is climbing the charts fast, Corbin is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Cillian and Corbin each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Cillian —, Corbin #983 — Corbin higher
- 1900s: Cillian —, Corbin #1058 — Corbin higher
- 1910s: Cillian —, Corbin #1830 — Corbin higher
- 1920s: Cillian —, Corbin #2242 — Corbin higher
- 1930s: Cillian —, Corbin #2363 — Corbin higher
- 1940s: Cillian —, Corbin #2078 — Corbin higher
- 1950s: Cillian —, Corbin #1938 — Corbin higher
- 1960s: Cillian —, Corbin #1505 — Corbin higher
- 1970s: Cillian —, Corbin #1047 — Corbin higher
- 1980s: Cillian —, Corbin #969 — Corbin higher
- 1990s: Cillian #9390, Corbin #393 — Corbin higher
- 2000s: Cillian #5017, Corbin #282 — Corbin higher
- 2010s: Cillian #1569, Corbin #238 — Corbin higher
- 2020s: Cillian #667, Corbin #430 — Corbin higher
Corbin stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cillian | Corbin |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #983 |
| 1900s | — | #1058 |
| 1910s | — | #1830 |
| 1920s | — | #2242 |
| 1930s | — | #2363 |
| 1940s | — | #2078 |
| 1950s | — | #1938 |
| 1960s | — | #1505 |
| 1970s | — | #1047 |
| 1980s | — | #969 |
| 1990s | #9390 | #393 |
| 2000s | #5017 | #282 |
| 2010s | #1569 | #238 |
| 2020s | #667 | #430 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Cillian
- Scotland#100
Corbin
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Cillian
Either 'church' with a small-thing ending, or 'sense, wisdom'
Two serious readings compete. One traces it to Old Irish cell, 'church' or 'monastic cell' (itself borrowed from Latin cella), plus the diminutive -án. The other traces it to Old Irish cíall, 'sense, sanity, wisdom'. Both are defensible on the linguistic evidence and neither has won.
Cillín → Cillian → Killian → Kilian
How it traveled
The name belongs to early Christian Ireland, the era of small stone churches and monks who kept traveling east. The best-documented bearer is the seventh-century Irish missionary Cillian, who preached in Franconia and was martyred at Würzburg around 689; his cult made the name a fixture in Bavaria, where it settled as Kilian and has been in continuous use ever since.
Corbin
raven, crow
From Old French corbin, a diminutive of corb 'raven', which comes from Latin corvus. As a medieval byname it pointed at dark hair or a dark complexion rather than at the bird itself.
corvus → corb → corbin → Corbin
How it traveled
The word behind Corbin is Latin corvus, 'raven', which became corb in Old French and picked up the affectionate ending -in. Medieval England and France both used it as a byname for dark-haired men, and from there it hardened into an inherited surname carried by families on either side of the Channel.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Cillian
KIL-ee-an
The Irish C is always a hard K; there is no 's' sound in it. Three syllables in careful speech, often compressed to two in fast speech (KIL-yan). The stress stays on the first syllable in Irish, English and German alike.
- Cill — The most usual clipped form in Ireland, informal and family-level; rhymes with 'kill', which is worth knowing before you adopt it.
- Cilly — Occasional affectionate extension of Cill, used within families rather than in public.
- Cillian — Most bearers use the full name in every register — three short syllables do not press hard for a nickname.
Corbin
KOR-bin
Stress on the first syllable. The second is a light 'bin', not 'bine'. English speakers get it right on first sight, and the spelling gives no trouble in French or German either.
- Corb — The most direct clip, used informally among friends and family.
- Corby — Softer everyday form; also exists independently as an English surname and place name.
- Cor — A one-syllable household shortening, rarely used outside the family.
- Bin — Occasional playground shortening; worth knowing it exists before someone else finds it.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Cillian if you want…
- a name on the way upup 450 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itCillian runs 3 syllables, Corbin 2
- a name that charts abroad tooCillian is on the national lists of Scotland
Choose Corbin if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCorbin is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesCorbin is 2 syllables to Cillian's 3
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Cillian
Strengths
- One pronunciation across Ireland, Britain, Germany and France — the sound does not shift when the name crosses a border.
- A documented record stretching back to a seventh-century Irish missionary, and continuous use in Bavaria ever since.
- The K-spellings, Killian and Kilian, are already familiar to English speakers, so the name reads as a name on first sight.
To consider
- The C will be read as an S by people who have not met the name: expect 'SILL-ee-an' from receptionists and substitute teachers, and expect to correct it politely for life.
- Cillian, Killian and Kilian all exist and all sound the same. Whichever you choose, the name will usually need spelling out over the phone.
- The obvious short form, Cill, sounds exactly like 'kill'. Most bearers simply use the full name, but it is better to notice this now than in a playground.
Corbin
Strengths
- Reads and says itself: one obvious pronunciation from the spelling, and one obvious spelling from the sound — apart from the Corbyn and Korbin variants.
- On US records for well over a century, so it carries none of the strangeness of a recent invention.
- Fits the established surname-as-first-name pattern alongside Colton, Camden and Weston, without being one of the crowded ones.
To consider
- Corbyn, Korbin and Corben all circulate, so expect an occasional 'how do you spell that' even though the sound is unmistakable.
- Corbett, Colby and Corbin get mixed up by ear, especially over the phone or in a noisy room.
- The name has been stepping back from its high point, which means most people carrying it now are teenagers and young adults rather than babies — a slightly dated ring for a few years, then not.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Cillian
57%chance Cillian feels dated by 2040
Cillian is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Corbin
40%chance Corbin feels dated by 2040
Corbin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Cillian and Corbin in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Scottish gems the US hasn't discovered
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- The names with the most spellings
- Names ending in -in
- all guides
Where Cillian and Corbin each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cillian or Corbin — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cillian or Corbin?
- Cillian, in 2025: Cillian ranked #507 with 595 babies; Corbin ranked #512 with 586 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cillian or Corbin?
- Cillian. Over the last five years Cillian moved up 450 places; Corbin moved down 165 places.
- Which is the older name, Cillian or Corbin?
- Cillian entered the US charts in 1995; Corbin entered the US charts in 1891. On the American record, Corbin is the older name.
- How many people are named Cillian and Corbin?
- About 4,100 people named Cillian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 40,000 people named Corbin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cillians or Corbins in the classroom?
- Cillian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Corbin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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