How common is the surname O'Neil?

28,949 people in the United States had the surname O'Neil in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,665 Americans. It ranked 1,220th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named O'Neil?

Barbara O'Neil, actress (1910-1980), followed by Titus O'Neil.

Where is the surname O'Neil most common?

Wikidata records people named O'Neil in the United States and Australia.

Is the surname O'Neil getting more or less common?

More common. 28,020 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,949 in 2010, up 3.3%.

The surname O'Neil

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 28,949 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex O540

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). O'Neil is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

See O'Neill

O'Neil is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 28,949 people named O'Neil in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,665 Americans. That is up 3.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 28,020.

#1,220

rank among US surnames

28,949

people in 2010

9.8

per 100,000 Americans

+3.3%

change since 2000 (was #1,145)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,211	Escobedo	29,185	10,579
#1,212	Arredondo	29,173	10,583
#1,213	Hyde	29,094	10,612
#1,214	Christopher	29,067	10,622
#1,215	Mobley	29,065	10,623
#1,216	Kessler	29,064	10,623
#1,217	Ritchie	29,040	10,632

Who is named O'Neil

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named O'Neil identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.5% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 6.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.7%
Two or more races 1.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous O'Neils

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Barbara O'Neil
Actress (1910-1980)
Titus O'Neil
American wrestler and football player, born 1977
Chris O'Neil
Australian tennis player (born 1956)
Cathy O'Neil
American mathematician, born 1972
Sally O'Neil
Actress (1908-1968)
April O'Neil
American pornographic actress, born 1987
Kitty O'Neil
American racing driver and stuntwoman (1946–2018)
John O'Neil
American rugby union player (1898–1950)
Dennis O'Neil
American comics writer (1939–2020)
Nance O'Neil
Actress (1874-1965)
Tricia O'Neil
American actress (b. 1945)
Clare O'Neil
Australian politician, born 1980

Notable O'Neils come mostly from the United States (11) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like O'Neil

O'Neil has the Soundex code O540, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code O540.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname O'Neil come from?: See O'Neill
How common is the surname O'Neil?: 28,949 people in the United States had the surname O'Neil in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,665 Americans. It ranked 1,220th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname O'Neil?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named O'Neil identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.5% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named O'Neil?: Barbara O'Neil, actress (1910-1980), followed by Titus O'Neil.
Where is the surname O'Neil most common?: Wikidata records people named O'Neil in the United States and Australia.
What type of surname is O'Neil?: O'Neil is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname O'Neil getting more or less common?: More common. 28,020 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,949 in 2010, up 3.3%.