How Many People Are Named Neil?
people named Neil are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 4,837 people in the US has this name
Based on 105,254 babies named Neil in Social Security records from 1880 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
💎 Rare
Peak Year
1,964 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the Gaelic name Niall, which is of disputed origin, possibly meaning "champion" or "cloud". This was the name of a semi-legendary 4th-century Irish king, Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Neil in English. Counting Neil and these spellings together, about 105,756 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Neil (99.6%) were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Neil alive today is about 50 years old, and 47% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 37 and 67 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Neil first appears in the records in 1880 and was given most often in 1954, to 1,964 babies. In 2025, 288 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1880 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Neil has never been one of the 100 most popular boys' names. Its best rank was #146, in 1953. In 2025 it ranked #851.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #851 |
| Best rank | #146 (1953) |
| Years in the top 100 | None |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #168 in the 1950s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Neil alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Neil were born in New York than in any other state: about 9,141 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Neil was given 2.3 times as often in North Dakota, 1.9 times in South Dakota and 1.8 times in Minnesota.
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