# McNeill (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/mcneill/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 19,152 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,875 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 16,121 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.8% (18,272 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Mac (“son of”) + Niall (“possibly "the champion”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named McNeill in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 64% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 30% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named McNeill in the United States and Australia.

## People named McNeill

- James McNeill Whistler, American painter (1834-1903)
- Robert Duncan McNeill, American actor and director
- Serayah McNeill, American singer and actress
- Lee McNeill, American track and field athlete (1964–2021)
- John Robert McNeill, American environmental historian, Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Ge
- John J. McNeill, American theologian
- Jane McNeill, American actress
- Bob McNeill, American basketball player
- Kia McNeill, American soccer player
- David McNeill, Australian athlete

## Similar surnames

McNeil, McNeal, McNally, McNeely, McAnally, MacNeil, McNiel, McNealy, McNeilly, Macneill, McNelly, McNeeley.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.