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

Nealon, 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 Nealon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nealon in America

Nealon is the 13997th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nealon surname appeared 2,153 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Nealon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nealon 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 Nealon

The surname Nealon originated in Ireland and is derived from the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Nialláin" which means "descendant of Niallán." Niallán is a personal name that is a diminutive form of the name "Niall," meaning "champion." The name Niall was a popular personal name among Irish royalty and nobility during the Middle Ages.

The Nealon surname is believed to have first appeared in the 11th century in County Westmeath, Ireland. The family was part of the Gaelic nobility and held lands in the area. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a "Gilla-na-naemh Ó Nialláin" in the year 1162.

In the 16th century, the Nealon family was among the many Irish families who were dispossessed of their lands during the Plantation of Ulster, a planned process of colonization by English and Scottish settlers. Many Nealons were forced to relocate to other parts of Ireland, while others fled to continental Europe.

A notable member of the Nealon family was Patrick Nealon, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was a Catholic priest and a renowned scholar of Irish language and literature. Another prominent figure was Laurence Nealon, born in 1725, who was a Catholic bishop and a leader in the Irish Catholic Church during the turbulent period of the Penal Laws.

In the 19th century, the Nealon surname began to spread more widely due to the Irish diaspora, with many Nealons emigrating to countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia. One notable figure from this period was Michael Nealon, born in Ireland in 1837, who became a successful businessman and philanthropist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Other notable individuals with the Nealon surname include James Nealon, an Irish-American actor born in 1953, and Kevin Nealon, an American actor and comedian born in 1953, who is best known for his work on the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live."

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nealon

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

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

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

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