# Neil (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/neil/  
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 Irish derived from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 10,228 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,496 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 30,186 people |
| Change since 2000 | +11% (9,209 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /niːl/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Neal, Neale, Neill |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Goidelic/Irish Niall. Doublet of Niall.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Neil 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) | 80% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Neil in the United States and Canada.

## People named Neil

- Vince Neil, American singer
- Fred Neil, American recording artist, singer, songwriter (1936-2001)
- Andrea Neil, association football player
- Eleanor Coppola, American documentary filmmaker (1936–2024)

## Similar surnames

Neal, Noel, Neely, Neill, Neel, Nail, Nealy, Neale, Nell, Nila, Newell, Noll.

## 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.