Head to head · Boys' names
Cillian vs Gunner
#507 vs #506 in 2025
Gunner is a whisker ahead (#506 vs #507 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Gunner is stepping back from its peak, Cillian is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Cillian has the edge.
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
On the charts, Gunner leads 5 measures of 6; Cillian leads 1.
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
- 1970s: Cillian —, Gunner #4117 — Gunner higher
- 1980s: Cillian —, Gunner #4498 — Gunner higher
- 1990s: Cillian #9390, Gunner #1100 — Gunner higher
- 2000s: Cillian #5017, Gunner #582 — Gunner higher
- 2010s: Cillian #1569, Gunner #280 — Gunner higher
- 2020s: Cillian #667, Gunner #413 — Gunner higher
Gunner stood higher in every recorded decade — 6 of 6.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cillian | Gunner |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | — | #4117 |
| 1980s | — | #4498 |
| 1990s | #9390 | #1100 |
| 2000s | #5017 | #582 |
| 2010s | #1569 | #280 |
| 2020s | #667 | #413 |
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
Gunner
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.
Gunner
Either "battle-warrior" (via Old Norse Gunnar) or, read as the English word, "one who operates a gun"
Two genuine readings sit behind the same spelling. Read as Norse, it is Gunnarr, from gunnr "battle" plus an element meaning "army" or "warrior." Read as English, it is the agent noun gunner — a naval warrant rank from the age of sail, and still an artillery rank in the British Army. Most American families arrive by one road or the other, and the two happen to point in the same direction.
Gunnr (Old Norse, "battle") → Gunnarr → Gunnar → Gunner
How it traveled
The older line is Old Norse: Gunnarr, built from gunnr, "battle," and an element meaning army or warrior. It belongs to the heart of Norse storytelling — the thirteenth-century Icelandic Njáls saga turns on Gunnarr of Hlíðarendi, and the same name appears as Gunther in the German Nibelungen material.
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.
Gunner
GUN-er
Exactly like the English word gunner, and rhyming with runner. Note that the Scandinavian Gunnar is said differently — closer to GOON-ar — so a relative abroad may not say it the American way.
- Gun — The bare first syllable, used informally at home and among friends.
- Gunny — Affectionate diminutive, mostly used with small children; also long-standing US Marine Corps slang for a gunnery sergeant.
- G — Initial-only nickname, common in sports and school settings.
- Gunnar — Not a short form but the fuller Scandinavian spelling; some families use it as the formal version on documents.
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, Gunner 2
- a name that charts abroad tooCillian is on the national lists of Scotland
Choose Gunner if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsGunner is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesGunner 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.
Gunner
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly on first sight by any English speaker, because it is already an English word.
- One pronunciation, no variants to correct — rare for a name with a Norse background.
- Sits on a documented line back to Old Norse Gunnarr, a name still in everyday use across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.
To consider
- The firearm reading is unavoidable — it is the literal English word. Some people hear only the Norse name; others hear a statement about guns. Worth deciding in advance how you feel about explaining it, because you will.
- Gunner and Gunnar are both in use and look alike, so expect a lifetime of clarifying which one is on the birth certificate.
- Its rise is recent and it has begun easing back, which means bearers are overwhelmingly children and teens right now. That gives the name a fairly narrow generational stamp.
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.
Gunner
40%chance Gunner feels dated by 2040
Gunner 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 Gunner in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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Put both to the vote.
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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
- Names with an edge
- The best baby names starting with G
- all guides
Where Cillian and Gunner each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cillian or Gunner — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cillian or Gunner?
- Gunner, in 2025: Gunner ranked #506 with 597 babies; Cillian ranked #507 with 595 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cillian or Gunner?
- Cillian. Over the last five years Cillian moved up 450 places; Gunner moved down 198 places.
- Which is the older name, Cillian or Gunner?
- Cillian entered the US charts in 1995; Gunner entered the US charts in 1970. On the American record, Gunner is the older name.
- How many people are named Cillian and Gunner?
- About 4,100 people named Cillian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 23,500 people named Gunner are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cillians or Gunners in the classroom?
- Cillian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Gunner 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
Keep playing
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