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Neil

Masculine given name of Gaelic origin

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
5 min read
Source updated September 9, 2026

Neil is a masculine name of Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion". Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".

01Origins

The Gaelic name was adopted by the Vikings and taken to Iceland as Njáll (see Nigel). From Iceland it went via Norway, Denmark, and Normandy to England. The name also entered Northern England and Yorkshire directly from Ireland, and from Norwegian settlers. Neal or Neall is the Middle English form of Nigel.

As a first name, during the Middle Ages, the Gaelic name of Irish origins was popular in Ireland and later Scotland. During the 20th century Neil began to be used in England and North America, and grew in popularity throughout the English-speaking world; however, in England, it has recently been eclipsed by the Gaelic form.

The surname Neil is a reduced form of the surname McNeil (from the Gaelic Mac Néill, "son of Niall"), or variant form the surname of Neill (from the Irish Ó Néill and Mac Néill or the Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill, meaning "descendant of Niall" and "son of Niall"). The surname,Neil is traced back to Niall of the Nine Hostages who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred.

The name passed from Ireland to Scotland where it had the Mc/Mac prefix a prefix that already existed in the Irish surname such as Lóegaire mac Néill. Some Scottish McNeills returned to Ireland in the 14th century and are associated with MacNeill, MacGreal, MacReill, and Mag Reil surnames.

The Manx version of the name is Kneal (1598), Kneale (1655), or Kneel (1636). It evolved from McNelle (1408) and MacNeyll (1430) becoming Kneal by 1598.

02Variants

Variants of the given name include Neale and Neal. The table below sets out the various surnames derived from Niall and Nial.

NameYearCountry of originMentioned
MacNele1289Scotland
Neel1170-1182EnglandYork Charters
Neil1260EnglandAssize Rolls, Yorks
Nele1304EnglandSubsidy Rolls, Yorks
Nigelli1195EnglandFeet of Fines, Warwicks
Niel1841ScotlandA frequent spelling variant of Neil in the 1841 Census of Aberdeenshire
Nel, Neel1208-1210EnglandCuria Regis Rolls, Berkshire

03Notable figures with the given name

04People with the surname

05Fictional characters

Watch videos about NeilExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Neil”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

List of Irish-language given names

This list of Irish-language given names shows Irish language given names, their anglicisations and/or English language equivalents. Not all Irish given names have English equivalents, though most names have an anglicised form.

List of Scottish Gaelic given names

This list of Scottish Gaelic given names shows Scottish Gaelic given names beside their English language equivalent. In some cases, the equivalent can be a cognate, in other cases it may be an Anglicised spelling derived from the Gaelic name, or in other cases it can be an etymologically unrelated name.

Neal

Neal is a surname and masculine given name of the Gaelic origin. The name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".