The baby name Niel is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /niːl/ (NEEL).
Niel is Irish, Scottish Gaelic in Origin.
The baby name Niel is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /niːl/ (NEEL).
Niel is Irish, Scottish Gaelic in Origin.
Niel is a streamlined spelling of Neil, the Anglicized form of Old Irish Niall. Its root is debated, often glossed as “champion,” with alternative senses like “cloud” or “passion.” The name belonged to early Irish rulers, famously Niall Noígíallach (“of the Nine Hostages”), and moved into Scotland with Gaelic culture. Contact with Norse speakers produced the Old Norse form Njáll. In medieval England it sometimes overlapped with Nigel (Latin Nigellus), creating mixed spellings in records.
Use as a given name persisted in Ireland and Scotland, saw revival in the 19th–20th centuries, and spread across the English-speaking world; Niel is a rarer variant seen in Britain, South Africa, and the US. In South Africa it can serve as a short form of Daniel or Cornelius. Variants and related forms include Neil, Neal, Neel, Niall, Nial, and Njáll; surnominal offshoots include McNeil/MacNeill. Not to be confused with Danish Niels (from Nicholas).
Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.
| Country | Gender | Year | Rank | Born | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Boys | 1979 | #1 | — | 346 |
| NA | 0 | #33 | 1 | 2,537 | |
| IN | 0 | #71 | 1 | 2,963 | |
| AL | 0 | #76 | 1 | 2,372 | |
| JP | 0 | #77 | 1 | 4,057 | |
| PH | 0 | #102 | 9 | 5,607 | |
| TW | 0 | #103 | 1 | 4,523 | |
| QA | 0 | #104 | 3 | 7,011 | |
| BN | Girls | 0 | #114 | 1 | 5,459 |
| ID | Boys | 0 | #133 | 3 | 4,130 |
| BN | Boys | 0 | #134 | 6 | 6,332 |
| MT | Boys | 0 | #179 | 1 | 4,064 |
| AE | 0 | #183 | 5 | 10,220 | |
| Belgium | Boys | 2018 | #190 | 25 | 406 |
| MO | Boys | 0 | #226 | 9 | 5,842 |
| NA | Boys | 0 | #226 | 10 | 6,830 |
| AL | Girls | 0 | #227 | 1 | 4,141 |
| BD | 0 | #240 | 2 | 5,992 | |
| AO | Boys | 0 | #248 | 2 | 5,568 |
| TW | Boys | 0 | #255 | 2 | 7,111 |
| JM | Boys | 0 | #261 | 12 | 6,876 |
| PH | Boys | 0 | #261 | 125 | 11,440 |
| NG | 0 | #272 | 1 | 5,926 | |
| GR | Boys | 0 | #273 | 1 | 6,912 |
| SG | 0 | #279 | 4 | 11,010 | |
| SA | 0 | #286 | 10 | 10,560 | |
| TW | Girls | 0 | #289 | 1 | 8,139 |
| KZ | Boys | 0 | #296 | 1 | 6,578 |
| ZA | 0 | #326 | 122 | 14,421 | |
| PE | 0 | #327 | 3 | 6,350 | |
| CN | Boys | 0 | #329 | 3 | 9,639 |
| DK | Boys | 0 | #332 | 1 | 7,401 |
| JO | Girls | 0 | #339 | 1 | 7,570 |
| PL | Boys | 0 | #340 | 1 | 6,459 |
| QA | Girls | 0 | #340 | 4 | 15,378 |
| MY | 0 | #347 | 8 | 12,352 | |
| BR | 0 | #356 | 5 | 5,969 | |
| GH | Boys | 0 | #358 | 4 | 8,138 |
| CN | Girls | 0 | #359 | 1 | 8,829 |
| PH | Girls | 0 | #375 | 16 | 13,098 |
| PT | Boys | 0 | #378 | 4 | 7,951 |
| France | Boys | 2020 | #388 | 4 | 2,846 |
| JO | Boys | 0 | #388 | 2 | 7,057 |
| BD | Girls | 0 | #400 | 7 | 8,413 |
| BO | 0 | #406 | 3 | 6,868 | |
| UY | Boys | 0 | #411 | 3 | 5,922 |
| OM | Girls | 0 | #423 | 2 | 15,987 |
| CL | 0 | #432 | 3 | 6,867 | |
| SD | Boys | 0 | #466 | 1 | 10,523 |
| AR | Boys | 0 | #482 | 2 | 7,628 |
| GT | Boys | 0 | #498 | 2 | 7,625 |
| CO | 0 | #510 | 1 | 7,768 | |
| CR | Boys | 0 | #510 | 1 | 10,188 |
| IQ | Girls | 0 | #525 | 1 | 11,303 |
| RU | Boys | 0 | #525 | 2 | 12,621 |
| HK | Boys | 0 | #554 | 4 | 12,905 |
| KW | Girls | 0 | #556 | 6 | 19,177 |
| LY | 0 | #559 | 1 | 12,703 | |
| PS | Boys | 0 | #560 | 2 | 10,655 |
| ZA | Boys | 0 | #569 | 831 | 25,619 |
| CR | Girls | 0 | #573 | 1 | 11,342 |
| CM | Boys | 0 | #574 | 2 | 12,054 |
| BH | 0 | #581 | 7 | 17,937 | |
| BO | Boys | 0 | #582 | 11 | 9,244 |
| AE | Girls | 0 | #589 | 9 | 20,968 |
| BD | Boys | 0 | #600 | 6 | 10,045 |
| BR | Boys | 0 | #604 | 149 | 12,213 |
| IL | Boys | 0 | #619 | 7 | 10,983 |
| AR | Girls | 0 | #630 | 1 | 8,289 |
| SG | Girls | 0 | #632 | 1 | 18,916 |
| IL | Girls | 0 | #644 | 2 | 11,648 |
| HK | Girls | 0 | #648 | 3 | 16,104 |
| BO | Girls | 0 | #651 | 1 | 9,488 |
| CL | Boys | 0 | #651 | 15 | 13,390 |
| QA | Boys | 0 | #669 | 39 | 18,093 |
| SG | Boys | 0 | #688 | 10 | 17,960 |
| KW | Boys | 0 | #741 | 29 | 18,755 |
| PE | Boys | 0 | #808 | 71 | 14,506 |
| NG | Girls | 0 | #826 | 1 | 15,093 |
| TN | 0 | #864 | 2 | 13,765 | |
| OM | Boys | 0 | #866 | 16 | 17,948 |
| United States | Boys | 2023 | #894 | 5 | 7,053 |
| SA | Girls | 0 | #911 | 25 | 25,931 |
| CL | Girls | 0 | #915 | 1 | 14,098 |
| NL | Boys | 0 | #917 | 35 | 5,873 |
| EG | Boys | 0 | #921 | 5 | 15,035 |
| Germany | Boys | 0 | #941 | 12 | 5,697 |
| MX | Boys | 0 | #971 | 12 | 16,355 |
| MY | Girls | 0 | #972 | 23 | 24,821 |
| CO | Boys | 0 | #975 | 7 | 15,656 |
| IN | Boys | 0 | #988 | 14 | 16,750 |
| BR | Girls | 0 | #989 | 4 | 12,708 |
| NG | Boys | 0 | #996 | 6 | 16,906 |
| MY | Boys | 0 | #1,006 | 106 | 25,439 |
| PE | Girls | 0 | #1,008 | 3 | 14,861 |
| AE | Boys | 0 | #1,033 | 60 | 22,615 |
| CO | Girls | 0 | #1,152 | 1 | 16,140 |
| MA | 0 | #1,195 | 5 | 20,986 | |
| DZ | 0 | #1,228 | 7 | 20,130 | |
| ZA | Girls | 0 | #1,229 | 8 | 25,928 |
| TR | 0 | #1,253 | 2 | 19,440 | |
| MX | Girls | 0 | #1,265 | 3 | 17,781 |
| SA | Boys | 0 | #1,405 | 210 | 28,008 |
| IT | Boys | 0 | #1,437 | 35 | 10,046 |
Niel is popular in 60 countries — most recent births per country:
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