The O'Neil surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 28,949 people carried this name — #1,220 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,200 people counted. That is up 3% from 28,020 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the O'Neil surname

A surname from Irish [in turn originating as a patronymic], a variant of O'Neill.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, O'Neil was counted together with O'Neal: 87 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 478 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: O'Neal, O'Nail, Onail, Onailes, Onale, Oncale, Oneal, ONeale, Oneale, Oneales, ONeall, Oneall, O'Neals, ONeil, Oneil, O Neill, Oniel, Oniell, Orneal. 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 34
Maryland 14
South Carolina 13
Virginia 10
Pennsylvania 9
New York 4
Maine 1
New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 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. 256 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

O'Neil in American newspapers,
1882–1895.

Newspaper page from The Climax carrying the name O'Neil
The Climax 1895-08-29
Newspaper page from Press And Daily Dakotaian carrying the name O'Neil
Press And Daily Dakotaian 1882-06-08
Newspaper page from The White Pine News carrying the name O'Neil
The White Pine News 1884-02-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

O'Neil in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

49,491 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss O'Neil. The most, 9,127, date from the 1900s. 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 the Northern Territory, at 5.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 17,305
Victoria 10,067
Western Australia 7,403
South Australia 6,228
Queensland 5,912
Tasmania 1,902
Northern Territory 369
ACT (Canberra) 247

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

Who carried it

People named O'Neil,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Barbara O'Neil
    Barbara O'Neil 1910–1980 · film actor
  • Sally O'Neil
    Sally O'Neil 1908–1968 · film actor
  • John O'Neil
    John O'Neil 1898–1950 · rugby union player
  • Kitty O'Neil 1946–2018 · competitive diver

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

In the public record

People named O'Neil,
in the records of 4 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 States4,362 records

4,362 records of the O'Neil name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,317
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,174
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 848
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 552
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 284
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 110
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 61
  • Sacramento County historic burials 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John A. Oneil

    Born 1906 in Canada. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; station agent. U.S. Air Force veteran of World War II; died 1958, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    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 William Oneil

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Pretoria from Cuxhaven, aged 25; laborer. From Liverpool, England; bound for New York.

    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 Robert Andrew Oneil

    Born 1945; from Allentown, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 4,362 records for O'Neil in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia1,048 records

1,048 records of the O'Neil name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 736
  • Tasmanian Names Index 167
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 123
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 14
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 8
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Michael Oneil

    Died 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 67. Will registered in Tasmania in 1896.

    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 Michael John Oneil

    Born 1868 in Deloraine, Tasmania. Married 1895 in Deloraine, Tasmania, aged 26.

    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 Bridget Oneil

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Herald of the Morning, aged 22; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,048 records for O'Neil in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada22 records

22 records of the O'Neil name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 8
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ed Oneil

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Quebec, landing at Quebec, bound for London, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Francis Robert Oneil

    Buried in 1963 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 43.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Peter Oneil

    Listed at Truro Township, Colchester, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 22 records for O'Neil in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom3 records

3 records of the O'Neil name in the United Kingdom St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Oneil

    Buried in 1824 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 36.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 1 of 3 records for O'Neil in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to O'Neil.

When the index is not enough

This page says where O'Neil 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.

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