Neil
Meaning
meaning debated, glossed 'champion' or 'cloud'; famously borne by Neil Armstrong, aerospace engineer and the first person to walk on the Moon
Goes by Neel
The story
Neil descends from the old Irish Niall, a name whose meaning scholars still debate, glossed as champion by some and cloud by others, and borne in legend by Niall of the Nine Hostages, ancestor of Irish kings. Its most famous modern bearer needed no legend: Neil Armstrong, the quiet aerospace engineer from Ohio who commanded Apollo 11 and, in July 1969, became the first human being to walk on the Moon. Here is the curious thing the chart below reveals: the name barely moved. Neil had been a steady American fixture since the 1930s and simply stayed one, before the Moon landing and after, as if it were too settled to spike. It remains what Armstrong himself seemed to be: modest, dependable, and quietly attached to one of the largest moments in human history.
The formal names behind Neil
Neil is an established short form of this name.
Cornelius · Latin origin · meaning uncertain (Roman family name, possibly 'horn')
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Neil peaked in the 1930s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
712 people · the #10,467 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 250,000 · median age 51
Among people named Neil living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Neil
People given the name Neil in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Neil deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Neil truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Neil fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Neil travels
Indian American · A documented choice in Indian American families.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Neil · Indian American baby names · Names of explorers and adventurers · Names of geniuses and inventors · Short names
Does Neil fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Neil to your family’s tree →