Find out how popular the last name McNeela is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named McNeela.

McNeela, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the McNeela surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McNeela in America

McNeela is the 107669th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McNeela surname appeared 165 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname McNeela.

We can also compare 2010 data for McNeela to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name McNeela

The surname McNeela is of Irish and Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the personal name Neil or Niall, which means "champion" or "cloud." The name's earliest roots can be traced back to the medieval period in Ireland and Scotland.

The prefix "Mc" is a common Irish and Scottish Gaelic patronymic, meaning "son of." Therefore, McNeela likely originated as a name given to the sons or descendants of an individual named Neil or Niall. The name may have been anglicized from the original Gaelic spellings, such as Mac Niall or Mac Néill.

In ancient Irish records and manuscripts, variations of the name, such as MacNeill or MacNeil, can be found. One notable historical reference is the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions individuals with the name MacNéill as early as the 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the McNeela surname dates back to the 16th century, when a John McNeela was listed in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of Irish administrative records from the reign of Henry VIII. Another early mention is found in the Scottish Clan Donald records, where a Donald McNeela is listed as a member of the clan in the late 16th century.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname McNeela. In the 18th century, James McNeela (1720-1801) was a prominent Irish landowner and politician who served as a member of the Irish Parliament. In the 19th century, Patrick McNeela (1835-1909) was a renowned Irish historian and author, known for his works on Irish folklore and genealogy.

In the realm of literature, John McNeela (1887-1962) was an Irish poet and playwright whose works explored themes of Irish nationalism and cultural identity. Another noteworthy figure was Mary McNeela (1901-1988), a Scottish suffragette and activist who campaigned for women's rights and social justice.

More recently, in the 20th century, Michael McNeela (1920-1998) was a respected Irish-American judge and legal scholar who served on the New York State Supreme Court for over two decades.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McNeela

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname McNeela.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for McNeela was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of McNeela has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name McNeela was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of McNeela, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!