Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an

anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the Irish '' Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. As a surname, Neil is traced back to

Niall of the Nine Hostages Niall ''Noígíallach'' (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...

who was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill and MacNeil kindred. Most authorities cite the meaning of Neil in the context of a surname as meaning "champion".

Origins

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 McNeil may refer to: * McNeil, Arkansas * McNeil, Caldwell County, Texas * McNeil, Travis County, Texas * McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson & Johnson, distributor of Tylenol * McNeil High School, high school in Austin, Texas * ...

'' (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 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 McNeill's 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.A W Moore, Manx Names, London 1903

Variants

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

Notable people with the given name

* Neil Abercrombie (born 1938), former Governor of Hawaii and U.S. Representative * Neil Anderson (cricketer) (born 1979), Irish cricketer, right-handed batsman and a left-arm spin bowler * Neil Armstrong (disambiguation), several people * Neil Bogart (1943–1982), American music executive * Neil Breen, American filmmaker and actor * Neil Brewer (born 1954), English musician and singer-songwriter * Neil Buchanan (born 1961), English television presenter, artist and musician *

Neil Carmichael, Baron Carmichael of Kelvingrove Neil George Carmichael, Baron Carmichael of Kelvingrove (10 October 1921 – 19 July 2001) was a Scottish politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in Glasgow from 1962 to 1983. Early life Carmichael was the son of James Carmicha ...

(1921–2001), British Labour Party politician, MP in Glasgow 1962–1983 * Neil Carmichael (English politician) (born 1961), English businessman and academic, MP for Stroud 2010–2017 *

Neil Cicierega Neil Stephen Cicierega ( ; born August 23, 1986) is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, singer, YouTuber, musician, songwriter, puppeteer, artist, and animator. He is known as the creator of a genre of Flash animation he termed "Animutation ...

(born 1986), American artist and Internet personality * Neil Clarke (disambiguation), several people, including those named Neil Clark * Neil Clark Warren (born 1934), American psychologist and theologian * Neil Codling (born 1973), English musician, member of the band Suede * Neil Cole (disambiguation), several people *

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

(born 1941), American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor *

Neil Farrell Jr. Neil Farrell Jr. (born September 9, 1998) is an American football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU Tigers football, LSU and was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders i ...

(born 1998), American football player * Neil Fairbrother (born 1963), English cricketer *

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

(born 1960), English author *

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American lawyer and judge who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on January 31, 2017, and has served since ...

(born 1967), Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States * Neil Hannon (born 1970), Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician * Neale Hanvey (born 1964), Scottish politician * Neil Patrick Harris (born 1973), American actor *

Neil Harrison (disambiguation) Neil Harrison is a musician and dramatist. Neil Harrison may also refer to: * Neil Harrison (umpire) *Neil Harrison (curler) Neil Gordon "Harry" Harrison (January 23, 1949 – February 24, 2014) was a Canadian curler from Newmarket, Ontario. ...

, several people * Neil Innes (1944–2019), English writer, comedian and musician, member of the Rutles, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band *

Neil Jenkins (disambiguation) Neil Jenkins is a rugby union footballer, and coach. Neil Jenkins may also refer to: * Neil Jenkins (footballer) * George Neil Jenkins, commonly known as Neil Jenkins, professor of oral physiology *Neil Jenkins, character in Gavin & Stacey ''Ga ...

, several people * Neil Jordan (born 1950), Irish film maker * Neil Kenlock (born 1950), Jamaican-born photographer * Neil Kinnock (born 1942), British politician, and former leader of the Labour Party * Neil Lennon (born 1971), Northern Irish football coach and former player *

Neil Lyndon Neil Alexander Lyndon (born Neil Alexander Barnacle; 12 September 1946) is a British journalist and writer. He has written for ''The Sunday Times'', ''The Times'', ''The Independent'', the ''Evening Standard'' the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Tele ...

(born 1946), British journalist and author * Neil MacGregor (born 1946), British art historian *

Neil Martin (disambiguation) Neil Martin Neil Martin (born 20 October 1940) is a Scottish former football player, who scored 100 league goals in both Scotland and England and won three full international caps for Scotland in the 1960s and 1970s. Known for his strength, po ...

, several people *

Neil McGregor (disambiguation) Neil McGregor may refer to * Neil McGregor, born 1985, Scottish footballer * Neil McGregor (film director), Australian film director * Neil McGregor (rugby union), 1901–1973, New Zealand rugby player See also * Neil MacGregor, (born 1946), Briti ...

, several people *

Neil McVicar (politician) Neil McVicar was a Canadian politician from the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Saskatchewan. He represented Rosetown (provincial electoral district), Rosetown as a Saskatchewan Liberal Party, Liberal on the Legislative Assembly ...

, Canadian politician * Neil Nitin Mukesh (born 1982), Indian actor *

Neil O'Brien (disambiguation) Neil O'Brien (born 1978) is the Member of Parliament for Harborough. Neil O'Brien may also refer to: * Neil O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1945), English cricketer * Neil O'Brien (quizmaster) (1934–2016), Indian quiz master and Member of Parliament * ...

, several people *

Neil Patel (designer) Neil Patel is an American designer for film and television, as well as for opera and the theater. For his work in theater he has twice been honored with the Obie Award for "sustained excellence". Career Neil Patel is a graduate of Yale College ...

, Welsh-American production designer *

Neil Patel (political advisor) Neil Patel () (born 1970) is a British-American lawyer, hedge fund manager, conservative political advisor, and publisher. He is the co-founder and publisher of ''The Daily Caller''. Early life and education Patel was born in Scotland and moved ...

, American publisher and co-founder of ''The Daily Caller'' * Neil Peart (1952–2020), Canadian drummer and lyricist of the rock band Rush *

Neil Perry Neil Arthur Perry AM (born 29 June 1957) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. He also is the co-ordinator for Qantas Flight Catering under his company Rockpool Consulting. He also cooks high quality Korean B ...

(born 1957), Australian chef *

Neil Perry (cricketer) Neil James Perry (born 27 May 1958) is a former English cricketer. Perry was a right-handed batsman who bowled slow left-arm orthodox. He was born at Sutton, Surrey. Perry made his first-class debut for Glamorgan in 1979 against the touring ...

(born 1958), English cricketer * Neil Prakash (born 1991), Australian terrorist *Neil Reid (disambiguation), several people *Neil Sedaka (born 1939), American musician *Neil Simon (1927–2018), American playwright *Neil Tennant (born 1954), British singer-songwriter of Pet Shop Boys *Neil Turk (born 1987), English cricketer *Neil deGrasse Tyson (born 1958), American astrophysicist, author and science communicator *Neil Wagner (born 1986), South African-born New Zealand cricketer *Neil Walker (disambiguation), several people *Neil Young (disambiguation), several people

People with the surname

* Alex Neil (politician) (born 1951), Scottish politician * Alexandra Neil (born 1955), American actress * Andrew Neil (born 1949), Scottish journalist and broadcaster * Chris Neil (born 1979), Canadian professional ice hockey player * Chris Neal (disambiguation) (and variants), several people * Dan Neil (American football) (born 1973), American football player *Dan Neil (journalist) (born 1960), automobile columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times'' * Fred Neil (1936–2001), American singer and songwriter * María Fernanda Neil (born 1982), Argentine actress and model * Sam Neill (born 1947), New Zealand actor * Sara Neil (born 1960), Canadian cyclist * Tom Neil (1920–2018), British fighter pilot * Vince Neil (born 1961), singer for American metal band Mötley Crüe

Fictional characters

*Neil "The Good Looking", from the Canadian animated series ''Class of the Titans'' *Neil the Boxtank engine, from ''The Railway Series'' books by Rev. W.V. Awdry *Neil Goldman (Family Guy), Neil Goldman, from the ''Family Guy'' animated comedy series *Neil Pye, from the British TV sitcom ''The Young Ones (TV series)#Neil Pye, The Young Ones'' * Neil, character from the game Coffee Talk (video game), Coffee Talk

References

{{given name, type=both English masculine given names Gaelic-language surnames Irish masculine given names Scottish masculine given names