Kil- - Etymology Meaning of the Prefix - Etymonline kil- first element in many Celtic place names, meaning "cell (of a hermit); church; burial place," from Gaelic and Irish -cil, from cill, gradational variant of ceall "cell, church, burial place," from Latin cella (see cell)
Definitive guide to understanding Irish place names There are several places named “Kill” throughout Ireland and some of them are “An Choill” in Irish, while others are “An Chill ” This is where further investigation itself comes into play as
Mac, Kil-, Gil-, Mal- prefixes to Celtic Surnames - Library Ireland Some of these surnames begin in English with Kil —assuming then the form of place-names (kill, i e cill = cella, a church), but they are not place-names, the Kil - being but a hardening of Gil- (giolla), arising from the c of Mac which has been rejected