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

Neil, 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 Neil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neil in America

Neil is the 3496th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neil surname appeared 10,228 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Neil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neil 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 Neil

The surname NEIL is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name Niall, which means "champion" or "cloud." It is believed to have originated in the Highlands of Scotland during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname NEIL appears in the 13th century, when a man named Nigellus Nell was mentioned in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. This suggests that the name was already established in Scotland by that time.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, various spellings of the name were found in records, including Nele, Neile, and Neel. Some of these variations were likely influenced by the Norman-French pronunciation of the name.

The NEIL surname is also associated with several Scottish place names, such as Neilston in East Renfrewshire, which was once known as Neilstown or Neilstoun. This indicates that the name was present in different regions of Scotland and may have been adopted as a locational surname.

Notable individuals with the surname NEIL throughout history include:

1. Sir Paul NEIL (c. 1435–1516), a Scottish knight and ambassador during the reigns of James III and James IV of Scotland.
2. John NEIL (1570–1630), a Scottish Catholic priest and rector of the Scots College in Rome.
3. James NEIL (1776–1857), a Scottish horticulturist and botanist who introduced several plant species to Europe from North America.
4. Samuel NEIL (1783–1848), a Scottish-American businessman and landowner who co-founded the city of Columbus, Ohio.
5. James Munsie NEIL (1839–1902), a Scottish-American architect who designed several notable buildings in Philadelphia, including the Academy of Music and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

The NEIL surname has a long and rich history in Scotland, with its origins dating back to the medieval period. It has been associated with various regions, place names, and notable individuals throughout the centuries, reflecting the prominence and diversity of those who have borne this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neil

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

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

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