Neil

Last seen for girls in 1990 at #12,958 · #850 for boys in 2025, 288 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1953 · 1,937 births
Debut · boys
24 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
104,869
since 1880

Neil over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Neil has never cracked the top 100 here.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201978peak #146, 1953boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#850288
2024#862280
2023#806305
2022#765330
2021#719360
2020#748324
2019#637422
2018#624427
2017#618422
2016#629425
2015#641414
2014#656397
2013#623394
2012#620391
2011#655358
2010#686342
2009#630396
2008#712327
2007#741305
2006#605398
2005#594380
2004#624338
2003#575384
2002#574381
2001#512443
2000#494462
1999#464490
1998#460489
1997#430526
1996#404579
1995#357678
1994#348704
1993#326784
1992#322791
1991#283918
1990#12,9585#2611,028
1989#8,0379#2511,027
1988#9,2447#240999
1987#9,8256#2211,078
1986#8,5237#2111,152
1985#6,03111#2021,206
1984#9,1446#2051,125
1983#5,45712#1951,226
1982#6,37110#1881,342
1981#5,25413#1881,330
1980#5,54412#1811,348
1979#10,2105#1651,486
1978#5,95810#1591,527
1977#9,6525#1691,429
1976#6,6118#1731,354
1975#5,16111#1741,331
1974#7,6806#1751,323
1973#7,4356#1821,297
1972#7,2926#1851,304
1971#6,6197#1821,422
1970#4,03814#1781,567
1969#4,41811#1641,680
1968#7,0165#2181,049
1967#2001,155
1966#1981,227
1965#1911,321
1964#6,0096#1821,527
1963#2041,448
1962#2141,291
1961#1961,524
1960#1991,446
1959#6,2455#1851,632
1958#4,8907#1741,711
1957#4,5368#1811,676
1956#5,9525#1711,747
1955#5,8285#1591,785
1954#5,7535#1471,959
1953#3,9559#1461,937
1952#4,4837#1471,904
1951#4,3857#1491,755
1950#1561,609
1949#1611,471
1948#4,2057#1651,406
1947#1621,460
1946#1611,343
1945#4,5565#1571,210
1944#1611,140
1943#1621,155
1942#4,6225#1601,101
1941#1611,074
1940#1561,067
1939#3,1458#1521,068
1938#1521,066
1937#3,8006#157969
1936#158913
1935#167858
1934#3,4497#153953
1933#3,1098#149997
1932#3,9016#161934
1931#3,8486#165881
1930#3,6587#174827
1929#3,6827#195696
1928#4,1956#198696
1927#221609
1926#3,8737#225600
1925#4,9735#234563
1924#4,4346#248541
1923#248508
1922#4,4456#255489
1921#4,4646#251497
1920#3,5988#247489
1919#275366
1918#3,5128#285359
1917#270356
1916#4,4175#256375
1915#296289
1914#293232
1913#293184
1912#290151
1911#36358
1910#33754
1909#35743
1908#29355
1907#32842
1906#34237
1905#31142
1904#30641
1903#36028
1902#37328
1901#31432
1900#29250
1899#35526
1898#32435
1897#36726
1896#26247
1895#32931
1894#32230
1893#33028
1892#30936
1891#34025
1890#32229
1889#33228
1888#38723
1887#35621
1886#34824
1885#33226
1884#36923
1883#34623
1882#41619
1881#7816
1880#35024
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Neil was already there! It came in at #350, and was given to 24 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1881, when fewer than 7 boys a year got the name.

See more about Neil
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 12 spots since 2024 (#862#850)
  • 102 spots since 2020 (#748#850)
  • 209 spots since 2015 (#641#850)
  • Biggest jump: 365 spots in 1882 (#781#416)
  • Biggest drop: 431 spots in 1881 (#350#781)
Rise & fade · boys
73 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1953 at #146 (1,937 births)
  • Births halved by 1991, 38 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 146 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 995
  • Highest: 1 in 995 boys born in 1933 were named Neil (0.10%)
  • Latest: 1 in 5,931 boys born in 2025 (0.02%)
  • Its best rank, #146 in 1953, was only 1 in 1,018 (0.10%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1950s
  • 16.9% of all boys named Neil (17,715) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s217#332 (1889)#402
1890s313#262 (1896)#326
1900s398#292 (1900)#328
1910s2,424#256 (1916)#296
1920s5,688#195 (1929)#232
1930s9,466#149 (1933)#159
1940s12,427#156 (1940)#161
1950s17,715#146 (1953)#162
1960s13,668#164 (1969)#197
1970s14,040#159 (1978)#174
1980s11,833#181 (1980)#208
1990s6,987#261 (1990)#366
2000s3,814#494 (2000)#606
2010s3,992#618 (2017)#639
2020s1,887#719 (2021)#792

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Neil in 1978

girls
#5,958
10 births · 1 in 153,186 girls
boys
#159
1,527 births · 1 in 1,075 boys

Top girls' names in 1978

  1. #1Jennifer56,314
  2. #2Melissa28,327
  3. #3Jessica26,102
  4. #4Amy23,213
  5. #5Heather22,270
  6. #6Amanda20,520
  7. #7Angela20,517
  8. #8Sarah19,976
  9. #9Michelle18,856
  10. #10Nicole17,279
  11. #5,958Neil10

Top boys' names in 1978

  1. #1Michael67,127
  2. #2Jason51,600
  3. #3Christopher47,236
  4. #4David40,684
  5. #5James39,894
  6. #6Matthew34,282
  7. #7John34,014
  8. #8Robert33,374
  9. #9Brian29,432
  10. #10Joseph26,663
  11. #159Neil1,527
More about 1978

girls

1,531,859 girls got a published name in 1978; 1 in 153,186 of them was named Neil, which outranked 48.1% of the 11,475 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Neil
  1. #5,563Yaisa11
  2. #5,563Yaminah11
  3. #5,563Zipporah11
  4. #5,958Neil10
  5. #5,958Aaryn10
  6. #5,958Abraham10
  7. #5,958Adora10
  8. #6,385Abagail9
  9. #6,385Adenike9
  10. #6,385Aditi9

Tied with 426 names at #5,958; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. 4,240Aja#4,652#412
  2. 1,987Kiley#2,606#619
  3. 1,951Kylee#2,838#887
  4. 1,785Winter#2,780#995
  5. 1,620Kylie#2,026#406
Fallers
  1. 913Shalon#868#1,781
  2. 760Farah#854#1,614
  3. 519Tennille#462#981
  4. 398Shawnte#740#1,138
  5. 362Farrah#177#539

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,641,837 boys got a published name in 1978; 1 in 1,075 of them was named Neil, which outranked 97.6% of the 6,762 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Neil
  1. #156Jack1,579
  2. #157Maurice1,575
  3. #158Frederick1,533
  4. #159Neil1,527
  5. #160Reginald1,515
  6. #161Damien1,507
  7. #162Barry1,499
Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. 3,237Dequan#4,164#927
  2. 626Nicholaus#1,367#741
  3. 617Nicklaus#1,515#898
  4. 578Zebulon#1,476#898
  5. 424Anwar#1,121#697
Fallers
  1. 674Kinte#834#1,508
  2. 668Kunta#572#1,240
  3. 417Telly#732#1,149
  4. 415Lesley#937#1,352
  5. 310Amin#904#1,214

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1978