Neil

Champion, cloud

boyIrish

How does Neil feel alongside your favorites? Talk through the sound, meaning and fit with your family.

Neil meaning & origin

Neil is listed in our catalog as a boy name. Its listed meaning is "Champion, cloud". Listed origin: Irish.

Pronunciation

neel

Catalog phonetic spelling

Popularity

In 2024, Neil ranked #863 in US Social Security name records for male births. This is the latest verified year in our catalog, not a live ranking.

Neil popularity by year

US Social Security birth-name ranks. A smaller rank means more recorded births in the reported sex category.
Birth yearRank
2020#750
2021#719
2022#765
2023#806
2024#863

Source: Social Security Administration. US data is not a worldwide measure of usage. Missing years are not zero births.

Middle Name Ideas

  • Neil James
  • Neil Alexander
  • Neil William
  • Neil Thomas

Famous Namesakes

  • Neil Armstrong (astronaut)
  • Neil deGrasse Tyson (astrophysicist)
  • Neil Young (musician)
  • Neil Diamond (singer)
  • Neil Patrick Harris (actor)

Sources & notes

Meanings, origins, pronunciations, and namesakes are catalog entries that have not yet completed source-by-source editorial review. Nicknames and middle-name pairings are ideas to try, not usage statistics. We show birth-name ranks only when the record includes source-file provenance; missing data is not evidence of rarity.

The pronunciation button uses your device's speech voice, not a native-speaker recording.

Variants & Alternate Spellings of Neil

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Frequently Asked Questions About Neil

What does the name Neil mean?

Neil is listed in our catalog as a boy name. Its listed meaning is "Champion, cloud". Listed origin: Irish.

How do you pronounce Neil?

Our catalog's pronunciation guide is neel. Pronunciation can vary by language and family.

How popular is the name Neil?

In 2024, Neil ranked #863 in US Social Security name records for male births. This is the latest verified year in our catalog, not a live ranking.

What middle names could work with Neil?

Try Neil James, Neil Alexander, Neil William, Neil Thomas aloud with your surname. These pairings are subjective suggestions.

Still deciding on the perfect name?

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