McNeal
An Irish and Scottish surname ultimately tied to the name Neil, meaning “son of Neil.”
The #1,723 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 14,859 Americans shares it.
Etymology
McNeal is a reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Néill / Mac Neill, meaning “son of Neil.” The personal name Neil is commonly explained as coming from a Gaelic form related to “champion” or, in older scholarship, sometimes linked to “cloud”; the surname itself is patronymic either way. In historical records the name appears in several spellings, including MacNeal, MacNeil, MacNeill, and MacNeile.
History
The name is especially associated with Gaelic-speaking families in Scotland and Ireland, where Mac- surnames were widely used as inherited family names. The excerpts also show MacNeal as a spelling variant within the larger MacNeill/MacNeil family of names. In modern usage, McNeal is one of several Anglicized forms that developed as spelling became less standardized.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries often grouped McNeal with McNeil and McNeill rather than treating it as a separate family name.
From the historical record
“ITlAc lleill, MacNeill, Mac Neile, MacNeal, etc. rriAC niA-6, MacNea, MacNee, (?) Neeson. iTiAc niAllsuif.mAc niAlljUfA,”
— Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish names and surnames