nye-al
Niall
About Niall
Niall is pronounced nye-al--something like Neil, but this Irish spelling of the name makes it much more current and cool.
This is an ancient name borne by several of the high kings of Tara, the most famous of whom was the powerful semi-mythological fifth century king known as Niall of the Nine Hostages, ancestor of all the O'Neills and MacNeills that followed.
Niall Ferguson is a respected English historian, one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2004.
Pronounced nye-al.
As of October 2026, Niall ranked #1706 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1582 in 2024, Nameberry popularity #606.
Editor's take: The name Niall is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "cloud".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,150 | 64 | 33.3 |
| 2015 | #2,380 | 55 | 28.7 |
| 2016 | #2,429 | 53 | 27.9 |
| 2017 | #1,908 | 76 | 41.1 |
| 2018 | #1,667 | 96 | 52.9 |
| 2019 | #2,121 | 68 | 37.9 |
| 2020 | #2,128 | 66 | 38.2 |
| 2021 | #1,848 | 84 | 48 |
| 2022 | #1,991 | 77 | 44.1 |
| 2023 | #1,813 | 89 | 52 |
| 2024 | #1,582 | 109 | 63.3 |
| 2025 | #1,706 | 96 | 56.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Famous Nialls
- Niall McGinn
Northern Irish footballer
- Niall of the Nine Hostages
High King of Ireland
- Niall James Horan
Irish singer
- Niall Campbell Douglas Ferguson
Scottish historian
- Niall John Quinn
Irish footballer
- Niall Matter
Canadian actor
- Niall Joseph Sheehy
Irish actor
- Niall Macfarlane Mackenzie
Scottish motorcycle racer
- Niall John O'Brien
Irish cricketer
- Niall MacGinnis
Irish actor
Niall in pop culture
- Niall Ardanach
young emperor of Mor Ardain in the game "Xenoblade Chronicles 2"
- Niall Brigant
fairy on TV's "True Blood"
- Niall
Character in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
- Niall Mithrilen
character in "Sims" series
- Niall Rafferty
character on British soap "Hollyoaks"