Neal

Did you know?

A few things about Neal you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Neal

Neal Stephenson

American science fiction writer (born 1959)

Choose Neal and your child shares a first name with Neal Stephenson, an American science fiction writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Neal, like who?” Neal Stephenson's Wikipedia article is available in 40 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Neal Stephenson on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Christopher Michel, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 20,833 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Neal, 82 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Neal would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryNeal has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Neals, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1952, when it ranked #198. Today it's #1,906, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🍂TrendNeal has slipped 338 places over the last five years and now sits at #1,906. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.

About the name Neal

Neal is a boy name of Celtic, Irish and Scottish origin. It has 4 letters and 1 syllable, starting with N and ending in “-eal”. US birth records list Neal for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1952, when it ranked #198 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #1,906, with 82 babies.

Origin:Celtic namesIrish namesScottish names