O'Neil Coat of Arms and Surname Origin

Some records give O'Neill; others give O'Neil. Both point to the same Irish family name. Read literally, O'Neil points to “Descendant of Niall”. Without the “l” of O'Neill, O'Neil is a simpler written form of the same name. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists.

The same family of names includes Neill and MacNeill.

There is no single O'Neil family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were. Want more than a summary? See the O'Neil family name pack.