The Irish seaside resort Kilkee in county Clare is often compared with Kilkie and the assumption drawn that the family name is derived from the town name.

Although Kilkee is a very nice town with a lovely beach, there is no known connection between the town and the family. The town of Kilkee was originally called Cilkee and this has a different linguistic origin than Kilkie/Gilkie. Also it would be unlikely that no one with the name Kilkee exists or that there are no records of Kilkie/Gilkie anywhere near county Clare, only near Derry.