The McNeil surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 34,368 people carried this name — #1,018 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,580 people counted. That is up 3% from 33,239 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McNeil surname

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McNeil» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Scotland, 1880s

McNeil and McNeill, counted together, were 13 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 769. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Argyllshire and Renfrewshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 592 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

McNeil was recorded 77 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 347th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 104. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McNeil was counted together with McNiel: 168 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 932 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McNiel, McKneal, McNeal, Macneal, McNeale, McNeall, Mcneel, McNeel, McNeele, McNeell, McNeil, MacNeil, McNeile, McNeill, McNiell. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 64
Pennsylvania 26
New York 21
South Carolina 13
New Hampshire 11
Virginia 11
Connecticut 7
Vermont 5
Massachusetts 5
Maryland 4
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McNeil in American newspapers,
1907–1917.

Newspaper page from The Beaver Herald carrying the name McNeil
The Beaver Herald 1917-03-29
Newspaper page from Hopkinsville Kentuckian carrying the name McNeil
Hopkinsville Kentuckian 1907-07-25
Newspaper page from Tulsa Daily World carrying the name McNeil
Tulsa Daily World 1917-11-22

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 151,658 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McNeil in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

37,055 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McNeil. The most, 8,535, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,180
Western Australia 7,408
South Australia 6,324
Victoria 6,125
Queensland 4,779
Tasmania 919
ACT (Canberra) 232
Northern Territory 25

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McNeil.

Who carried it

People named McNeil,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Claudia McNeil
    Claudia McNeil 1917–1993 · film actor
  • Loretta McNeil 1907–1988 · athletics competitor
  • Mick McNeil 1940–2025 · association football player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McNeil,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States3,593 records

3,593 records of the McNeil name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,014
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 732
  • Other U.S. records 1,847
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Edward M. McNeil

    Born 1921 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1941 at Charlestown; electrician from Suffolk County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1995, buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary McNeil

    Arrived at New York in 1855 aboard the Progress from Liverpool, aged 17; weaver. From Manchester, England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles M. McNeil

    Born 1932; from Chenango County, New York. U.S. Army, medical aidman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 3,593 records for McNeil in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Canada7,381 records

7,381 records of the McNeil name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7,148
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 64
  • Other Canadian records 169
  1. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Clemens McNeil

    Served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion in the First World War, private; of Shreveport, Louisiana.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm McNeil

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Polynesian, landing at Portland, bound for Bracebridge, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Nathalie McNeil

    Buried in 1976 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 91.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 7,381 records for McNeil in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Australia1,378 records

1,378 records of the McNeil name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 819
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 210
  • Other Australian records 349
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record John McNeil

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Sir Robert Peel, sailing from London in 1844. Native of Bayonne. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1849.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Andrew George McNeil

    Born 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1903 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Donald McNeil

    Arrived in Victoria in 1887 aboard the Iberia, aged 14; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,378 records for McNeil in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom121 records

121 records of the McNeil name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 82
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 20
  • Other British records 19
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Donald McNeil

    Born 1876 at Bishopmill; painter. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles McNeil

    Died 1957, aged 63; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Jane McNeil

    Will proved in 1905; of Aberdaron, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 121 records for McNeil in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand54 records

54 records of the McNeil name in New Zealand
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 28
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 20
  • Other New Zealand records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Flora Janisemia McNeil

    Buried in 1947 at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 69.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James McNeil

    Died 1918, aged 75; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record A. McNeil

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 54 records for McNeil in New Zealand.

Counts: Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with McNeil.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McNeil.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McNeil is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McNeil volume
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