The name comes from the Gaelic "cill" ("cell"), and the name of Saint Marnoch or Mernoc who is also remembered in the name of Portmarnock in Ireland, and Inchmarnock. It may come from the three Gaelic elements "mo", 'my', "Ernán" (name of the saint) and the diminutive "ag", giving "Church of My Little Ernán". Some people think that the saint founded a church there in the 7th century. There are 12 Church of Scotland congregations in the town, plus other denominations. In 2005, the Reverend David W. Lacy, minister of the town's Henderson Church, was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.