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

Nealis, 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 Nealis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nealis in America

Nealis is the 27514th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nealis surname appeared 876 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 Nealis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nealis 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 Nealis

The surname NEALIS is of Irish origin and dates back to the 16th century. It is believed to have originated in County Mayo, Ireland, and is derived from the Gaelic personal name Naill or Niall, which means "cloud" or "champion".

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name NEALIS can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle written in the early 17th century. The Annals document a Niall Nealis who lived in County Mayo in the late 16th century.

The NEALIS surname is also closely associated with the townland of Ballinafad in County Mayo, which was historically known as "Baile na bhFead" or "Town of the Nealis's". This suggests that the NEALIS family had a significant presence in this area during the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the 18th century, the NEALIS surname began to spread beyond County Mayo to other parts of Ireland. One notable figure from this period was Patrick Nealis (1711-1788), a Catholic bishop who served as the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly.

Another prominent individual with the NEALIS surname was John Nealis (1780-1847), an Irish-born American businessman and landowner who played a significant role in the early development of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In the 19th century, the NEALIS name continued to grow in prominence. One notable figure was Michael Nealis (1829-1897), an Irish politician and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kilkenny City.

Another noteworthy individual was Cornelius Nealis (1857-1917), an Irish-born American prelate who served as the Bishop of Portland, Maine, from 1892 until his death.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many individuals with the NEALIS surname immigrated to the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world, contributing to the global spread of this Irish surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nealis

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

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 Nealis 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 Nealis 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 Nealis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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