How common is the surname O'Neill?

50,028 people in the United States had the surname O'Neill in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,171 Americans. It ranked 689th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname O'Neill?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named O'Neill identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named O'Neill?

Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (1888–1953), followed by Ed O'Neill.

Where is the surname O'Neill most common?

Wikidata records people named O'Neill in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce O'Neill?

O'Neill is /oʊˈnil/, 2 syllables.

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

More common. 48,656 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 50,028 in 2010, up 2.8%.

The surname O'Neill

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 50,028 people in the United States.

Pronounced /oʊˈnil/ 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'Neill is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicisation of an Irish surname meaning "descendant of Niall".

O'Neill 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 50,028 people named O'Neill in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,171 Americans. That is up 2.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 48,656.

#689

rank among US surnames

50,028

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.8%

change since 2000 (was #633)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#680	Kane	50,584	6,104
#681	Hancock	50,558	6,107
#682	Callahan	50,524	6,111
#683	Dillon	50,465	6,118
#684	Cline	50,258	6,143
#685	Wiggins	50,247	6,145
#686	Grimes	50,245	6,145

Who is named O'Neill

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

93% of people named O'Neill identified as white (not Hispanic), 4.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.4% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4.0%
Two or more races 1.4%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.9%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous O'Neills

30 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Eugene O'Neill
American playwright (1888–1953)
Ed O'Neill
American actor (born 1946)
Oona O'Neill
American-British actress (1925–1991)
Jennifer O'Neill
American actress and model, born 1948
Gerard K. O'Neill
American physicist and futurologist (1927–1992)
Aiden O'Neill
Australian soccer player (born 1998)
Christopher O'Neill
British-American businessperson, husband of Swedish Princess Madeleine (born 1974)
Paul H. O'Neill
American politician (1935-2020)
Susie O'Neill
Australian swimmer, born 1973
Rose O'Neill
American illustrator (1874-1944)
Tip O'Neill
American politician (1912–1994)
Michael O'Neill
American actor, born 1951

Notable O'Neills come mostly from the United States (18), Australia (6) and the United Kingdom (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like O'Neill

O'Neill 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'Neill come from?: Anglicisation of an Irish surname meaning "descendant of Niall".
How common is the surname O'Neill?: 50,028 people in the United States had the surname O'Neill in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,171 Americans. It ranked 689th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname O'Neill?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named O'Neill identified as white (not Hispanic), and 4.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named O'Neill?: Eugene O'Neill, American playwright (1888–1953), followed by Ed O'Neill.
Where is the surname O'Neill most common?: Wikidata records people named O'Neill in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce O'Neill?: O'Neill is /oʊˈnil/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is O'Neill?: O'Neill is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname O'Neill getting more or less common?: More common. 48,656 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 50,028 in 2010, up 2.8%.