Head to head · Boys' names
Cillian vs Johnathan
#507 vs #508 in 2025
Cillian is a whisker ahead (#507 vs #508 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Cillian is climbing the charts fast, Johnathan 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 Johnathan 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
- 1880s: Cillian —, Johnathan #856 — Johnathan higher
- 1910s: Cillian —, Johnathan #2918 — Johnathan higher
- 1920s: Cillian —, Johnathan #3024 — Johnathan higher
- 1930s: Cillian —, Johnathan #2567 — Johnathan higher
- 1940s: Cillian —, Johnathan #1740 — Johnathan higher
- 1950s: Cillian —, Johnathan #863 — Johnathan higher
- 1960s: Cillian —, Johnathan #520 — Johnathan higher
- 1970s: Cillian —, Johnathan #267 — Johnathan higher
- 1980s: Cillian —, Johnathan #133 — Johnathan higher
- 1990s: Cillian #9390, Johnathan #131 — Johnathan higher
- 2000s: Cillian #5017, Johnathan #181 — Johnathan higher
- 2010s: Cillian #1569, Johnathan #306 — Johnathan higher
- 2020s: Cillian #667, Johnathan #475 — Johnathan higher
Johnathan stood higher in every recorded decade — 13 of 13.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Cillian | Johnathan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #856 |
| 1910s | — | #2918 |
| 1920s | — | #3024 |
| 1930s | — | #2567 |
| 1940s | — | #1740 |
| 1950s | — | #863 |
| 1960s | — | #520 |
| 1970s | — | #267 |
| 1980s | — | #133 |
| 1990s | #9390 | #131 |
| 2000s | #5017 | #181 |
| 2010s | #1569 | #306 |
| 2020s | #667 | #475 |
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
Johnathan
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.
Johnathan
"YHWH has given" — the gift of God
The root is Hebrew Yehonatan, from the divine name plus the verb "to give." The added h in this spelling comes from John (Hebrew Yohanan, "YHWH is gracious"), so the written form leans on two related biblical names at once, though the meaning it carries is Jonathan's.
Yehonatan → Yonatan → Ionathan → Jonathan → Johnathan
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Yehonatan, shortened to Yonatan, and belongs in the Hebrew Bible to the son of King Saul. Greek translators wrote it Ionathan, Latin carried it onward, and English-speaking Protestants took it up in earnest after the Reformation, when biblical names outside the New Testament came into ordinary family use.
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.
Johnathan
JON-uh-thun
Identical to Jonathan — the extra h is silent. Stress falls firmly on the first syllable.
- Jon — The default everyday short form; also given on its own as a full name, and often written John by people who have not seen the spelling.
- Johnny — Informal and affectionate, long established in American English; stands alone as a given name too.
- Nate — Taken from the back half of the name; informal, and independently a short form of Nathan and Nathaniel.
- Jonny — Informal spelling of Johnny that matches the Jon- half of the name.
- Also J.J..
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 that charts abroad tooCillian is on the national lists of Scotland
Choose Johnathan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsJohnathan is stepping back from its peak
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Jon, Johnny and Nate
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.
Johnathan
Strengths
- Pronounced exactly as Jonathan is, so no one hesitates over saying it, in the US or in most of Europe.
- Several short forms already in long use — Jon, Johnny, Nate — giving a formal name for documents and easier ones for daily life.
- The root name has an unbroken written record from the Hebrew Bible through Greek and Latin into English, and remains current in many languages.
To consider
- The h cannot be heard, only seen. Anyone taking the name down by ear will write Jonathan, so expect a lifetime of spelling it out on forms, bookings and email addresses.
- The same ambiguity repeats in the short form: Jon written by others as John. Worth deciding early which you and he will use.
- This spelling has been carried mostly by adults rather than young children in recent years, so a boy given it now may be among the youngest wearing it — which also means he is unlikely to meet another.
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.
Johnathan
40%chance Johnathan feels dated by 2040
Johnathan 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 Johnathan in full.
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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
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- all guides
Where Cillian and Johnathan each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Cillian or Johnathan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Cillian or Johnathan?
- Cillian, in 2025: Cillian ranked #507 with 595 babies; Johnathan ranked #508 with 594 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Cillian or Johnathan?
- Cillian. Over the last five years Cillian moved up 450 places; Johnathan moved down 90 places.
- Which is the older name, Cillian or Johnathan?
- Cillian entered the US charts in 1995; Johnathan entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Johnathan is the older name.
- How many people are named Cillian and Johnathan?
- About 4,100 people named Cillian are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 94,000 people named Johnathan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Cillians or Johnathans in the classroom?
- Cillian will almost certainly be the only one in school. Johnathan 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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