Neil
Neil is ranked 863rd among boys in 2024 (278 births). Its best rank was 146th, in 1953.
- Rank in 2024
- #863down 57 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 2780.02% of boys
- Peak year
- 19541,959 births
- Best rank
- #146in 1953
- Since 1880
- 104,581people given the name
The story in the numbers
104,581 boys have been named Neil in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1954, with 1,959 births.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 656 → 863).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1962, and the 1950s alone account for 17%. It has spent 145 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named Neil | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 217 | |
| 1890s | 313 | |
| 1900s | 398 | |
| 1910s | 2,424 | |
| 1920s | 5,688 | |
| 1930s | 9,466 | |
| 1940s | 12,427 | |
| 1950s | 17,716 | |
| 1960s | 13,669 | |
| 1970s | 14,041 | |
| 1980s | 11,833 | |
| 1990s | 6,988 | |
| 2000s | 3,814 | |
| 2010s | 3,990 | |
| 2020s | 1,597 |
In 1954, its biggest year
Neil was the 147th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1954 were Michael, Robert, James, John and David. See all of 1954.
Names that rose and fell with Neil
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Galenpeak 1949
- Curtispeak 1962
- Rudypeak 1960
- Douglasspeak 1970
- Phillippeak 1960
- Frankiepeak 1959
- Stuartpeak 1960
- Joesphpeak 1957
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.