Neil
Meaning of Neil
Neil is a one-syllable spark plug, born from the ancient Gaelic Niall—“champion,” “cloud,” or “passionate,” depending on which Celtic bard is strumming the harp—and then polished by centuries of wanderlust as it rode Viking longships, hopped Ellis-Island steamers, and finally planted its flag on American birth charts. It slips off the tongue like a quick bolero note—¡neel!—easy for abuela, Nana, and the coach on the soccer field to shout with equal flair. The name comes pre-loaded with shooting-star role models: moon-walker Neil Armstrong, story-weaver Neil Gaiman, joke-slinger Neil Patrick Harris, guitar sage Neil Young—proof that a tiny word can orbit, imagine, laugh, and sing. While its popularity hums along at a steady salsa rhythm rather than a flashy trumpet solo, Neil has shown up on U.S. lists every single year since records began, a century-long testament to quiet staying power. Parents who choose it love the minimalist swagger, the built-in pep talk that their little “champion” can shoot for the moon, and the effortless pronunciation that even the tiniest hermano can master. Compact yet valiente, Neil is the pocket-sized conquistador of baby names—small in letters, grande in heart, and always ready for the next aventura.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as neel (/niːl/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Neil
| Neil Armstrong was the American astronaut who commanded Apollo 11 and became the first person to walk on the Moon. |
| Neil Young is a celebrated Canadian-American singer-songwriter known for his influential solo work and collaborations with bands like Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. |
| Neil Gaiman is an English author celebrated for his imaginative works across comics, novels, and screenplays, such as The Sandman and Coraline. |
| Neil deGrasse Tyson is a renowned American astrophysicist and science communicator who directs the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. |
| Neil Patrick Harris is an acclaimed American actor and entertainer known for his television and stage roles, winning a Tony Award and five Primetime Emmy Awards. |
| Neil Harris, an English former striker, is the head coach of Cambridge United in EFL League Two. |
| Neil Strauss is an American author and journalist best known for his book "The Game" about pickup artists, and he contributes to Rolling Stone and The New York Times. |
| Neil Sheehan - Cornelius Mahoney Sheehan obtained and published the Pentagon Papers, leading to a Supreme Court case that protected press freedom. |
| Neil Hope was a Canadian actor best known for playing Derek "Wheels" Wheeler on the Degrassi series. |
| Neil Primrose - Neil James Archibald Primrose was a British Liberal politician and soldier, the son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, who served in Parliament and died from wounds in Palestine in 1917. |
| Neil John Gemmell, a New Zealand geneticist, is renowned for leading the Loch Ness Monster search and sequencing the tuatara genome, earning the Hutton Medal in 2020. |
| Neil McCann is a Scottish football pundit, former player, and manager who recently worked for BBC Scotland's Sportscene and served on Rangers' interim coaching team in 2025. |
| Neil Miller Gunn was a prolific Scottish novelist and a key figure in the Scottish Renaissance, widely regarded as one of the most influential fiction writers of the early 20th century. |
| Neil Gray is a Scottish National Party politician currently serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and as the MSP for Airdrie & Shotts. |
| Neil Louis Gross is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Colby College, a visiting scholar at NYU, and a former editor of Sociological Theory. |
