Meaning not yet researched.
Neil: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 288 in 2025. Its best rank was #146 in 1953.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #146 in 1953; #851 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Neil in 2025 was a boy.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#851 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1953, at #146.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Neil: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 288 boys in 2025. Peak: #146 in 1953 · most boys in one year: 1,959 (1954).
In 2025, 288 US boys were named Neil, making it the 851st most common boys’ name of the year, up 14 places from #865 in 2024. That is 8 more than the 280 boys named Neil in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #146, reached in 1953. The most boys given the name in a single year was 1,959, in 1954. For comparison, it was #641 in 2015 and #156 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Neil in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 24 babies with the name. In all, 105,254 US babies have been given the name, 0.4% of them girls and 99.6% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 17,773 babies named Neil.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 3,583 US boys were named Neil; the busiest of those years was 2018, with 427. In 2025 that was about 1 in 5,931 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Neil ranked highest in New Jersey in 2025, at #462 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Neal (55,305 babies since 1880), Neel (3,392 babies since 1880), Niall (2,094 babies since 1880) and Nell (27,710 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Neill, Niel and Neale are summarised on this page.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Rare spellings summarised here: Neill (1,834), Niel (1,384), Neale (920), Nil (280), Nehal (279), Nyel (153), Nial (144), Nyal (119), Neile (35), Nyell (20).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
No nicknames listed for Neil in the open dataset we use.
Neil is listed as a nickname for Cornelius.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 30 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 17 | #462 | #301 |
| Washington | 15 | #491 | #454 |
| Utah | 9 | #503 | — |
| Virginia | 15 | #513 | #532 |
| Oregon | 6 | #577 | #447 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | #603 | #493 |
| Wisconsin | 8 | #607 | #585 |
| Michigan | 13 | #627 | #944 |
| California | 37 | #727 | #486 |
| North Carolina | 12 | #754 | #959 |
| Minnesota | 6 | #779 | #497 |
| Ohio | 11 | #781 | #614 |
| Colorado | 6 | #821 | #868 |
| New York | 17 | #831 | #620 |
| Alabama | 5 | #844 | — |
| Illinois | 10 | #848 | #494 |
| Texas | 29 | #889 | #640 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | #897 | #912 |
| Tennessee | 5 | #1,141 | #1,012 |
| Georgia | 5 | #1,486 | #771 |
| Florida | 7 | #1,582 | #900 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | — | 288 | #851 |
| 2024 | — | — | 280 | #865 |
| 2023 | — | — | 305 | #806 |
| 2022 | — | — | 330 | #766 |
| 2021 | — | — | 360 | #719 |
| 2020 | — | — | 324 | #751 |
| 2019 | — | — | 422 | #639 |
| 2018 | — | — | 427 | #625 |
| 2017 | — | — | 422 | #618 |
| 2016 | — | — | 425 | #629 |
| 2015 | — | — | 414 | #641 |
| 2014 | — | — | 397 | #656 |
| 2013 | — | — | 394 | #624 |
| 2012 | — | — | 391 | #622 |
| 2011 | — | — | 358 | #660 |
| 2010 | — | — | 342 | #687 |
| 2009 | — | — | 396 | #632 |
| 2008 | — | — | 327 | #713 |
| 2007 | — | — | 305 | #741 |
| 2006 | — | — | 398 | #605 |
| 2005 | — | — | 380 | #595 |
| 2004 | — | — | 338 | #626 |
| 2003 | — | — | 384 | #575 |
| 2002 | — | — | 381 | #574 |
| 2001 | — | — | 443 | #512 |
| 2000 | — | — | 462 | #495 |
| 1999 | — | — | 490 | #465 |
| 1998 | — | — | 489 | #460 |
| 1997 | — | — | 526 | #430 |
| 1996 | — | — | 579 | #404 |
| 1995 | — | — | 678 | #357 |
| 1994 | — | — | 704 | #349 |
| 1993 | — | — | 784 | #326 |
| 1992 | — | — | 791 | #322 |
| 1991 | — | — | 918 | #283 |
| 1990 | 5 | #14,515 | 1,028 | #261 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,528 | 1,027 | #252 |
| 1988 | 7 | #10,020 | 999 | #240 |
| 1987 | 6 | #10,811 | 1,078 | #222 |
| 1986 | 7 | #9,252 | 1,152 | #211 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,321 | 1,206 | #202 |
| 1984 | 6 | #9,963 | 1,125 | #205 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,709 | 1,226 | #195 |
| 1982 | 10 | #6,701 | 1,342 | #188 |
| 1981 | 13 | #5,484 | 1,330 | #188 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,793 | 1,348 | #181 |
| 1979 | 5 | #11,359 | 1,486 | #165 |
| 1978 | 10 | #6,250 | 1,527 | #159 |
| 1977 | 5 | #10,721 | 1,429 | #169 |
| 1976 | 8 | #7,058 | 1,354 | #173 |
| 1975 | 11 | #5,403 | 1,331 | #174 |
| 1974 | 6 | #8,383 | 1,323 | #175 |
| 1973 | 6 | #8,094 | 1,297 | #182 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,930 | 1,304 | #185 |
| 1971 | 7 | #7,126 | 1,422 | #182 |
| 1970 | 14 | #4,185 | 1,567 | #178 |
| 1969 | 11 | #4,640 | 1,680 | #164 |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,823 | 1,049 | #218 |
| 1967 | — | — | 1,155 | #200 |
| 1966 | — | — | 1,227 | #198 |
| 1965 | — | — | 1,321 | #192 |
| 1964 | 6 | #6,544 | 1,527 | #182 |
| 1963 | — | — | 1,448 | #205 |
| 1962 | — | — | 1,291 | #214 |
| 1961 | — | — | 1,524 | #196 |
| 1960 | — | — | 1,446 | #199 |
| 1959 | 5 | #6,937 | 1,632 | #185 |
| 1958 | 7 | #5,251 | 1,711 | #174 |
| 1957 | 8 | #4,797 | 1,676 | #181 |
| 1956 | 5 | #6,614 | 1,747 | #171 |
| 1955 | 5 | #6,456 | 1,785 | #159 |
| 1954 | 5 | #6,361 | 1,959 | #147 |
| 1953 | 9 | #4,146 | 1,937 | #146 |
| 1952 | 7 | #4,799 | 1,904 | #147 |
| 1951 | 7 | #4,696 | 1,755 | #149 |
| 1950 | — | — | 1,609 | #156 |
| 1949 | — | — | 1,471 | #161 |
| 1948 | 7 | #4,510 | 1,406 | #165 |
| 1947 | — | — | 1,460 | #162 |
| 1946 | — | — | 1,343 | #161 |
| 1945 | 5 | #5,050 | 1,210 | #157 |
| 1944 | — | — | 1,140 | #161 |
| 1943 | — | — | 1,155 | #162 |
| 1942 | 5 | #5,164 | 1,101 | #160 |
| 1941 | — | — | 1,074 | #161 |
| 1940 | — | — | 1,067 | #156 |
| 1939 | 8 | #3,337 | 1,068 | #152 |
| 1938 | — | — | 1,066 | #152 |
| 1937 | 6 | #4,134 | 969 | #157 |
| 1936 | — | — | 913 | #158 |
| 1935 | — | — | 858 | #167 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,706 | 953 | #153 |
| 1933 | 8 | #3,327 | 997 | #149 |
| 1932 | 6 | #4,283 | 934 | #162 |
| 1931 | 6 | #4,207 | 881 | #165 |
| 1930 | 7 | #3,940 | 827 | #175 |
| 1929 | 7 | #3,944 | 696 | #196 |
| 1928 | 6 | #4,568 | 696 | #198 |
| 1927 | — | — | 609 | #221 |
| 1926 | 7 | #4,190 | 600 | #225 |
| 1925 | 5 | #5,553 | 563 | #234 |
| 1924 | 6 | #4,880 | 541 | #249 |
| 1923 | — | — | 508 | #248 |
| 1922 | 6 | #4,860 | 489 | #255 |
| 1921 | 6 | #4,926 | 497 | #252 |
| 1920 | 8 | #3,857 | 489 | #247 |
| 1919 | — | — | 366 | #275 |
| 1918 | 8 | #3,767 | 359 | #285 |
| 1917 | — | — | 356 | #270 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,945 | 375 | #256 |
| 1915 | — | — | 289 | #297 |
| 1914 | — | — | 232 | #296 |
| 1913 | — | — | 184 | #294 |
| 1912 | — | — | 151 | #292 |
| 1911 | — | — | 58 | #366 |
| 1910 | — | — | 54 | #343 |
| 1909 | — | — | 43 | #363 |
| 1908 | — | — | 55 | #295 |
| 1907 | — | — | 42 | #329 |
| 1906 | — | — | 37 | #343 |
| 1905 | — | — | 42 | #313 |
| 1904 | — | — | 41 | #310 |
| 1903 | — | — | 28 | #364 |
| 1902 | — | — | 28 | #377 |
| 1901 | — | — | 32 | #315 |
| 1900 | — | — | 50 | #292 |
| 1899 | — | — | 26 | #358 |
| 1898 | — | — | 35 | #328 |
| 1897 | — | — | 26 | #372 |
| 1896 | — | — | 47 | #264 |
| 1895 | — | — | 31 | #336 |
| 1894 | — | — | 30 | #329 |
| 1893 | — | — | 28 | #338 |
| 1892 | — | — | 36 | #310 |
| 1891 | — | — | 25 | #345 |
| 1890 | — | — | 29 | #324 |
| 1889 | — | — | 28 | #335 |
| 1888 | — | — | 23 | #394 |
| 1887 | — | — | 21 | #365 |
| 1886 | — | — | 24 | #354 |
| 1885 | — | — | 26 | #341 |
| 1884 | — | — | 23 | #371 |
| 1883 | — | — | 23 | #351 |
| 1882 | — | — | 19 | #421 |
| 1881 | — | — | 6 | #840 |
| 1880 | — | — | 24 | #354 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).