Neal
- Pronunciation
- [Ne-al]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Champion
- Origin
- Celtic
Neal Popularity Snapshot
Across the entire US Social Security Administration record (1880–2024), 54,960 baby boys have been named Neal. The name peaked in 1959 with 1,223 US births that year (rank #222). In 2024, ranked #2002 nationally — 1,780 places below its 1959 peak.
Top States for Neal
Based on 1910–2024 US SSA state-level records, the three states with the most Neal births are: New York (4,682), California (3,978), Illinois (3,041).
Other Celtic-Origin Names Like Neal
If you like Neal's Celtic origin, consider these related names: Adair, Adsaluta, Aengus, Ahearn, Aife. Browse all Celtic names →
4-Letter Names Starting with N
Names with Neal's exact length and starting letter: Naal, Nada, Naia, Naim, Naji.
Quick Facts About Neal
US Popularity History (2000–2002)
Annual US births named Neal by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2000 with 178 boys named Neal (boy rank #888 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2002, ranked #952 for boys (169 US births). That's 64 places below its 2000 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Variant Forms
Famous People Named Neal
1 notable figure from history and culture who share the name Neal.
- Neal Cassady was a poet belonging to the 'Beat Generation’, a community of eminent writers.
Looking for names like Neal?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Neal to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Neal against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
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