# Nail (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the nickname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,133 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,936 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 43,284 people |
| Change since 2000 | +34% (5,316 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Naill |

## Etymology

From nail, hence a metonymic occupational surname for a maker of nails, or a nickname for a tall and slender person.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Nail 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) | 87% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.0% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Nail in the United States.

## People named Nail

- David Nail, American country musician

## Similar surnames

Neal, Neil, Nall, Nally, Nale, Nila, Newell, Noel, Neely, Noll, Neill, Neeley.

## 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.