Neil
Masculine
Neil is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 104,869 boys against 385 girls since 1880.
Neil is the English spelling of the Old Irish Niall, a name carried by high kings in Irish tradition and borrowed by Norse settlers who reshaped it as Njáll. One syllable, four letters, and it says itself: no one has to ask how it's spelled twice. It has been in continuous English use for centuries and is still given quietly every year.
How old is the name Neil?
Neil was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Neil alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 72,500 people named Neil are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Neil most popular?
Neil peaked in 1953, reaching #146 nationally. Today it ranks #850, 704 places below that high. See the whole 1953 chart.
Where it comes from
From Niall to Neil
The story of Neil
The name begins as Niall in early Ireland, where tradition assigns it to Niall Noígíallach — Niall of the Nine Hostages — the high king from whom several medieval Irish dynasties claimed descent. Norse settlers in Ireland took the name home with them, and it appears in Icelandic as Njáll, the name at the center of the thirteenth-century Njáls saga. Anglo-Normans latinized it as Nigellus, which is where English Nigel comes from; the Irish and Scottish Gaelic Niall was meanwhile anglicized more directly as Neil, Neal and Neill. Scotland, especially the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and the islands, kept it in heavy use, and Scottish and Irish emigration carried it across the Atlantic.
Meaningscholars disagree
most often read as "champion" or "cloud"
The Old Irish name Niall has never been pinned down. Scholars have connected it to a word for cloud, to a root meaning champion or passionate, and to the sense of a chief or leader. None of the three has won the argument, and Irish name dictionaries still list them side by side.
How the name formed
- Niall
- Njáll
- Nigellus
- Nigel
- Neil
Related forms: Niall · Niall · Neal · Neill · Nigel · Njáll
Pronouncing Neil
NEEL
Rhymes with heel. Neal and Neill are said exactly the same way; the Irish spelling Niall is usually NEE-al or NYE-al, which is the one confusion worth knowing about.
Nicknames for Neil
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 19541,959 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #146reached in 1953
- Change vs 2022
- −12.7%288 in 2025, from 330
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.
Neil in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Niall in Irish — same name
- Niall in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Neal in English — spelling variant
- Neill in English — spelling variant
- Nigel in English — related form
- Njáll in Icelandic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Neils among us
people named Neil are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,931 born in 2025 was named Neil
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 Angelo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Neil's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Angelo climbed just as high around 1914, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Angelo's path sketches the road Neil is walking now.
Neil 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 Neil is headed
Neil should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Neil beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Neil in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable that is read correctly on sight by English speakers, with no stress or vowel ambiguity.
- A documented line running from Old Irish Niall through Old Norse Njáll and Latin Nigellus, unbroken for well over a thousand years.
- Recognized across Ireland, Scotland, England and North America without needing translation or adjustment.
- Short enough to sit comfortably in front of long or short surnames.
- Neil, Neal and Neill all sound identical, so the spelling will need saying aloud fairly often — a small, lifelong correction rather than a real problem.
- The name is strongly represented among men now in their sixties, so it may read as a mid-century name to some ears while sounding simply unhurried to others.
- There is nowhere much to go with it: no nursery form, no long version to grow into. Some parents like that, others miss having options.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Neil to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Neil
Masculine · #850 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Neils are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 72,500 people named Neil are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Neil in 2025?
- Neil ranks #850 among US boy names in 2025, with 288 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Neil?
- About 1 in every 5,931 US boys born in 2025 was named Neil — 288 in all.
- Will my child share the name Neil with classmates?
- Neil will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Neil
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ramon#850 · Derrick#850 · Waylen#848 · Braylon#848 · Bear#853 · Jeremias#853 · Jimmy#846 · Cason#846
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Neil? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Neil and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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