Neil
Boy nameNeil has been given to 105,254 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1954 and currently ranks #851 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /niːl/
Anglicized form of Goidelic/Irish Niall. Doublet of Niall.
Origin: Irish
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
105,254
Peak year
1954 (1,964 babies)
Rank in 2025
#851 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -30%
Gender split
0% girls / 100% boys
Famous people named Neil
Neil Armstrong
American astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–2012)
Neil Gaiman
English writer (born 1960)
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American astrophysicist and science communicator
Neil Young
Canadian singer, songwriter and filmmaker (born 1945)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Neil.
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