2000
#3,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,209
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.41
Uncommon Last name
Neil
An Irish occupational surname referring to a champion or cloud-maker, derived from Gaelic "Néill" meaning "cloud."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,807 Americans carry the last name Neil. That puts it at #3,671 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,716 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neil surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Neil with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,716
Census rank
#3,671
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.4K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,424 bearers of the surname Neil in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3671st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neil, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neil
Among Census respondents with the surname Neil, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Neil bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Neil surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 7,208
- Black or African American14.0% · 1,317
- Two or more races4.1% · 386
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 354
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 116
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neil
Neil appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,496
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,228
+1,019 bearers (+11.1%)
Per 100,000 3.47
Rank movement Up 48 places
2020
#3,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,424
-804 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 3.15
Rank movement Down 175 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,544 | 9,209 | 3.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,496 | 10,228 | 3.47 | +1,019 bearers (+11.1%) | Up 48 places |
| 2020 | #3,671 | 9,424 | 3.15 | -804 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 175 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Neil surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,496 | #3,671 | -5.0% |
| Count | 10,228 | 9,424 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.47 | 3.15 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neil bearers went from 10,228 to 9,424 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 175 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,496 to #3,671.
FAQ
Neil surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neil?
Name Census estimates that about 10,807 living Americans carry the surname Neil. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,716 residents.
How common is Neil?
Neil ranks #3,671 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,424 people with the surname Neil. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,807), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Neil.
Has Neil become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neil went from 10,228 recorded bearers to 9,424. That is a decrease of 804 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,496 to #3,671.
What does the Census say about the background of Neil?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neil, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are Black (14.0%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Neil in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (7,208 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neil appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.5%), Black (14.0%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Neil (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Neil mean?
An Irish occupational surname referring to a champion or cloud-maker, derived from Gaelic "Néill" meaning "cloud." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Neil (3.15 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Neil?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.