Neel
Masculine · “blue”
Neel is blue in Sanskrit — nila, the color of the sky and of the throat of Shiva, who drank poison to save the world and was stained by it.
How old is the name Neel?
Neel first appears in US birth records in 1918 — 107 years ago. The typical Neel alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 3,300 people named Neel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neel most popular?
Neel peaked in 2009, reaching #1214 nationally. Today it ranks #1571, 357 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From nila to Neel
The story of Neel
In the myth of the churning of the ocean, Shiva swallows the poison that surfaces and holds it in his throat, which turns blue — hence Nilkanth. Nila and its compounds are long-established Indian names. Indian emigration brought Neel to America, where it appears in the registers rising through the 2000s and is in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
blue, dark blue
From the Sanskrit nila, 'dark blue' — the word behind the English indigo's Indian trade and behind Nilkanth, 'blue-throat', an epithet of Shiva. A separate route treats Neel as a Dutch or English spelling of Neil, from the Irish Niall. Both are in use.
How the name formed
- nila
- Neel
Related forms: नील · Nil · Neil
Pronouncing Neel
NEEL
One syllable. It is a homophone of the Irish Neil and of the English verb 'kneel' without its k.
Nicknames for Neel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1918
- Most boys named
- 2009148 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1214reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- +24.1%108 in 2025, from 87
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Neel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- नील in Hindi — transliteration
- Nil in Bengali — same name
- Neil in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New Jersey.
Neels among us
people named Neel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 15,816 born in 2025 was named Neel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Jaison test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neel's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jaison climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jaison's path sketches the road Neel is walking now.
Neel 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Neel is headed
Neel should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Neel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The blue meaning is concrete, and the Shiva story behind it is genuinely striking.
- One syllable, clean, and never mispronounced.
- It is a living Indian name rather than a revived one.
- The Irish Neil is a homophone with an entirely different origin.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- The transliteration varies between Neel, Nil and Neal.
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What they receive
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Neel
Masculine · #1571 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Neel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Neel in 2025?
- Neel ranks #1571 among US boy names in 2025, with 108 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neel?
- About 1 in every 15,816 US boys born in 2025 was named Neel — 108 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neel with classmates?
- Neel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Constantine#1571 · Keon#1571 · Jiovanni#1571 · Emeric#1571 · Link#1571 · Lucky#1571 · Vivaan#1571 · Alias#1571
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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