2000
#3,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,946
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.32
Rare Last name
Neill
An Irish surname derived from Niall, meaning "champion" or "cloud," often indicating descent from an ancient king.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,888 Americans carry the last name Neill. That puts it at #3,997 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,664 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Neill 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 Neill with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,664
Census rank
#3,997
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,623 bearers of the surname Neill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3997th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Neill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neill
Among Census respondents with the surname Neill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Neill 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 Neill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.9% · 7,751
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 346
- Two or more races3.9% · 338
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 79
- Black or African American0.9% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Neill
Neill 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
#3,768
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,404
+458 bearers (+5.1%)
Per 100,000 3.19
Rank movement Down 117 places
2020
#3,997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,623
-781 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 229 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,651 | 8,946 | 3.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,768 | 9,404 | 3.19 | +458 bearers (+5.1%) | Down 117 places |
| 2020 | #3,997 | 8,623 | 2.88 | -781 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 229 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 Neill 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 | #3,768 | #3,997 | -6.1% |
| Count | 9,404 | 8,623 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.19 | 2.88 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Neill bearers went from 9,404 to 8,623 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 229 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,768 to #3,997.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Neill
FAQ
Neill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Neill?
Name Census estimates that about 9,888 living Americans carry the surname Neill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,664 residents.
How common is Neill?
Neill ranks #3,997 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 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 8,623 people with the surname Neill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,888), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 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 Neill.
Has Neill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Neill went from 9,404 recorded bearers to 8,623. That is a decrease of 781 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,768 to #3,997.
What does the Census say about the background of Neill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Neill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Neill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.9% (7,751 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Neill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.9%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Neill (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 Neill mean?
An Irish surname derived from Niall, meaning "champion" or "cloud," often indicating descent from an ancient king. 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 Neill (2.88 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 Neill?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.