McNeil Last Name: Meaning and Heraldic Roots

A McNeil ancestor may well appear as McNeal in earlier records. Its meaning, shared with McNeal, is “Son of Niall”. Before spelling was fixed, McNeal was also written McNeil. Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them. You may also find the name written MacNeal.

The 2010 US Census counted 34,368 people named McNeil, ranking it number 1,018 among American surnames. That is enough to place it in the top 2,500 American surnames. McNeil sounds close to MacNeill and McNeely, so it can help to search both.

There is no single McNeil family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were. For the full story, order the McNeil surname pack.