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

Neely, 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 Neely surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neely in America

Neely is the 1502nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neely surname appeared 23,843 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Neely.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neely 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 Neely

The surname Neely is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "O'Naoidhile," which means "descendant of the little prophet." The name can be traced back to the 12th century in County Tyrone, Ireland. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "O'Neilly" in the Irish Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.

One of the earliest documented references to the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a manuscript dating back to the 15th century, which mentions a "Ferdorcha O'Neilli" in the year 1433. The name is also found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of royal decrees and orders from the 16th century, where it is spelled "O'Neyly."

In the 17th century, the name began to take on its more modern spelling of "Neely" as Irish families anglicized their surnames during the Plantation of Ulster. One notable figure from this period was Sir John Neely, born in County Antrim in 1634, who served as a colonel in the Royalist army during the English Civil War.

As the Neely family spread across Ireland and later to other parts of the world, the name became associated with various place names. For example, there is a Neely's Quarter in County Down, and a Neely's Hollow in Tennessee, USA, which was named after an early settler from the Neely family.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Neely. One of the earliest was Thomas Neely, born in 1680 in County Tyrone, who was a prominent Presbyterian minister and one of the founders of the Presbytery of Monaghan. Another notable figure was James Neely, born in 1719 in County Antrim, who was a surveyor and cartographer responsible for mapping parts of Virginia and West Virginia in the 18th century.

In the 19th century, Reverend Hugh Neely, born in 1818 in County Down, was a prominent Presbyterian minister and author who wrote several books on theology and church history. William Neely, born in 1839 in County Tyrone, was a successful businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to education and charitable causes in Ireland.

In the 20th century, George Neely, born in 1907 in County Antrim, was a renowned artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraiture. He was elected a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1948.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neely

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Neely, 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!