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BabyNames
Boy name#212 of boy names

Neil

Pronounced N IY1 L (ARPABET)

  • 1 syllable
  • Peaked 1954
  • 145 years in use
  • 5 spellings
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How popular is Neil?

Neil is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 167,635 children — the 212th most common boys' name on record.

Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1954, when 3,102 children were given it.

Five other spellings are counted in that total — Neal, Neel, Neill and two more — because they are pronounced identically.

01,2502,5003,7505,00018901920195019802010
1954Boys: 3,102Girls: 5

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Neil and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Neal
  • Neel
  • Neill
  • Niel
  • Neale

Characteristics

  • 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
N IY1 L
Stress pattern:
1
Syllables:
1

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Neil

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Neil

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Neil?
Neil ranks 212th among boys' names in US records, with 167,635 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 5,836.
Is Neil a unisex name?
No. Neil is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Neil most popular?
1954, when 3,102 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Neil spelled?
Neal, Neel, Neill, Niel, Neale. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.