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

O'Niel, 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 O'Niel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of O'Niel in America

O'Niel is the 42511th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Niel surname appeared 510 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname O'Niel.

We can also compare 2010 data for O'Niel 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 O'Niel

The surname ONIEL is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name Ó Niall, meaning "descendant of Niall." The name can be traced back to the 5th century, when Niall Noígiallach, an Irish king and High King of Ireland, ruled. The name is associated with the northern part of Ireland, particularly the Ulster region.

The earliest recorded instance of the name ONIEL can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions several individuals with variations of the name, such as Ó Néill and O'Neill, in the 11th and 12th centuries.

In the 14th century, the ONIEL surname was prominently associated with the powerful O'Neill dynasty, a prominent Irish royal family that ruled parts of Ulster. One notable figure from this family was Niall Mór O'Neill (c. 1360-1397), who was King of Tír Eógain and a prominent leader during the Norman invasion of Ireland.

The Annals of the Four Masters, a comprehensive chronicle of Irish history, also contains numerous references to individuals with the ONIEL surname, including Hugh O'Neill (c. 1550-1616), who is considered one of the most famous bearers of the name. He was the Earl of Tyrone and a prominent leader in the Nine Years' War against English rule in Ireland.

Another notable figure with the ONIEL surname was Owen Roe O'Neill (c. 1585-1649), a renowned Irish military leader who fought against English and Scottish forces during the Irish Confederate Wars.

In later centuries, the ONIEL name continued to be associated with Ireland, and individuals bearing this surname were found in various parts of the country, as well as among Irish diaspora communities around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name O'Niel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname O'Niel.

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 O'Niel 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 O'Niel 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 O'Niel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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