The Kilian surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,065 people carried this name — #10,480 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 96,200 people counted. That is up 9% from 2,817 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Kilian surname
Borrowed from German Kilian.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Kilian» (Polish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Poland’s population register
3,353 people named Kilian have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 3,747 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Subcarpathian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
176 people named Kilian live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Aargau.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 175 people named Kilian.
23 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 25 départements, most often Bas-Rhin.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 39 people named Kilian live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
88 people named Kilian is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Kilian in American newspapers,
1894–1930.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,814 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Kilian,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Lucas Kilian 1579–1639 · printmaker -
Lucas Kilian 1579–1637 · printmaker
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Wolfgang Kilian 1581–1663 · publisher -
Philipp Kilian 1628–1693 · printmaker -
Bartholomäus Kilian 1630–1696 · printmaker -
Julius Kilian d. 1823 · entrepreneur
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Kilian.
- Kiger 4,484 · U.S. census
- Kihl 104 · U.S. census
- Kihm 314 · U.S. census
- Kihn 409 · U.S. census
- Kilburg 804 · U.S. census
- Kilhoffer 212 · U.S. census
- Kilic 573 · U.S. census
- Killian 12,717 · U.S. census
- Killy 123 · U.S. census
- Kim 262,352 · U.S. census
- Kimmel 10,528 · U.S. census
- Kimmerle 432 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Kilian is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.