first name
NEIL
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 81,118 people named Neil, 80.3% reported their origin as White, 9.6% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 3.6% as Black. Virtually all are male (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Neil peaked in 1954, when 1,964 babies got the name.
At least 105,254 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Neil by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1940s, when it ranked #347. The largest share of babies named Neil, 29.2%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Neil is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Neil has been most common in North Dakota (2.5×), South Dakota (2.1×), and Minnesota (1.8×), and least common in Mississippi (0.17×).
100,141 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Neil
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Neil, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Neil ranks #3,671 of 156,621, with 9,424 people. See Neil as a last name
Compare
🔎 NEIL 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 3,723 Americans Rarer than 63.2% of us Peaked in 1954 with 1,964 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/neil/