boy's name

Neel

  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 1
  • Letters 4
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 4,482

Ireland

#851

2021 births

Neel is a boy's name with 1 syllable. In 2025 it was given to 108 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Peaked in 2009, when 148 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 30,698 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1918.
  • 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.

Neel over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

964
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Neel by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 13
1920s 16
1930s 5
1940s 5
1950s 14
1960s 22
1970s 119
1980s 289
1990s 456
2000s 947
2010s 964
2020s (to 2025) 542

How popular is Neel?

In 2025, Neel was given to 108 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Neel is used

Ireland #851 3 in 2021
Canada #1,051 24 in 2024
England & Wales #1,502 23 in 2025
United States #1,577 108 in 2025
France #5,809 5 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

How Neel is spelled

Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.

Spelling What it is Births on record
Néel Néel is a rare spelling of Neel, written with an acute accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. 5

Names that peaked alongside Neel

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Neel also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Neel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Neel

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Neel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Neel

How popular is the name Neel?

In 2025, Neel was given to 108 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Neel a girl's or a boy's name?

Neel is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Neel?

Neel has 1 syllable.

When was Neel most popular?

Neel peaked in 2009, when 148 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Neel a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Neel currently ranks #1,051 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.