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

Neill, 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 Neill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Neill in America

Neill is the 3768th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Neill surname appeared 9,404 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 Neill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Neill 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 Neill

The surname Neill has its origins in Ireland, with the earliest records dating back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic name Niall, which means "champion" or "cloud." The name was particularly prevalent in Ulster and the northern regions of Ireland.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Neill name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history written in the 15th century. It mentions several individuals bearing the name, including Niall Caille Mac Áedha Neill, who lived in the 12th century.

The Neill surname can also be traced back to the ancient Irish kingdom of Ui Neill, which ruled parts of Ulster and Meath from the 5th to the 12th century. The kingdom was founded by Niall Noígiallach, a powerful Irish king who reigned in the late 4th and early 5th centuries.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Neill name was associated with the powerful O'Neill dynasty, a prominent Irish royal family that ruled parts of Ulster. The most notable member of this dynasty was Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (c. 1550-1616), who led the Irish rebellion against English rule in the Nine Years' War.

Other notable figures with the Neill surname include:

1. Sir John Neill (1811-1857), a British army officer who served in the First Anglo-Afghan War.
2. Thomas Neill (1776-1851), an Irish naturalist and horticulturist who contributed to the development of botany in Ireland.
3. Reverend Richard Neill (1693-1769), an Irish Presbyterian minister and author.
4. James Neill (1810-1857), a Scottish-born American politician and judge who served as the seventh Governor of Arkansas.
5. John Neill (1877-1949), an Irish artist and illustrator best known for his illustrations in Andrew Lang's Fairy Book series.

The Neill surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Neillstown and Neillsbrook, reflecting the historical influence and presence of the name in certain regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Neill

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

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

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

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