Neal
About Neal
Always the less common spelling of Irish classic Neil, Neal has been on a fifty-year slide, and now doesn't even make the Top 1000. It has a streamlined, surnamey appeal in this spelling.
Pronounced NEEL.
As of October 2026, Neal ranked #1914 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #198 in 1952.
Editor's take: The name Neal is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "champion or cloud".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,409 | 120 | 62.5 |
| 2015 | #1,213 | 152 | 79.3 |
| 2016 | #1,231 | 152 | 80.1 |
| 2017 | #1,363 | 131 | 70.8 |
| 2018 | #1,614 | 102 | 56.2 |
| 2019 | #1,470 | 118 | 65.8 |
| 2020 | #1,571 | 104 | 60.3 |
| 2021 | #1,582 | 110 | 62.9 |
| 2022 | #1,603 | 110 | 63 |
| 2023 | #1,740 | 95 | 55.5 |
| 2024 | #2,002 | 77 | 44.7 |
| 2025 | #1,914 | 82 | 48 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Neal.
- Odhrán
- Gavino
- Shannon
- Josie
- Haley
- Leigh
- Carey
- Jodie
- Addison
- Lawerence
- Shelby
- Derrick
- Gerrit
- Lashawn
- Jurre
- Garrison
- Larsen
- Madison
- Kenton
- Brogan
Neal on lists
Famous Neals
- Neal McDonough
American actor
- Neal Leon Cassady
American Beat figure, inspiration for "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac
- Neal Adams
American comic book artist
- Neal Eugene Walk
American basketball player
- Neal George Joseph Schon
American guitarist of bands Journey and Bad English
- Neal Hefti
American jazz trumpeter
- Neal Morse
American progressive rock musician
- Neal McCoy (born Hubert Neal McGaughey
Jr.), American country music singer
- Neal Town Stephenson
American novelist
- Neal Elgar Miller
American experimental psychologist
- Neal Carter
son of American rapper Lil Wayne
- Neal Pert
Drummer and main songwriter for the Canadian rock band Rush
- Christopher Neal Jackson
American actor, singer, musician, and composer
Neal in pop culture
- Neal Caffrey
main character on "White Collar"
- Neal Burke
Peter and Elizabeth's son (named after Caffrey) on "White Collar"
- Neal Cassidy aka Baelfire
character on "Once Upon a Time"
- Neal Scott
character from "This Golden Land" by Barbara Wood
- Nealan "Neal" of Queenscove
character from the Tortall series by Tamora Pierce