O'Neill
An Irish surname meaning “descendant of Niall,” long associated with the great Gaelic ruling family of Ulster.
The #689 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,171 Americans shares it.
Etymology
O'Neill is the Anglicized form of Irish Ó Néill. The prefix Ó means “descendant of,” and Néill is the genitive form of Niall, a personal name traditionally understood as “champion” or “cloud.” So the surname originally meant “descendant of Niall.”
History
The name is famously linked to the powerful O'Neill dynasty of Ulster, especially the medieval and early modern lords of Tyrone and the earls of Tyrone. After the Tudor and Stuart conquest of Ireland, many bearers were displaced or scattered, and the surname later spread widely through Ireland and the Irish diaspora. In English-language records, the apostrophe is sometimes retained and sometimes dropped, producing forms such as ONeill or Oneill.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The O'Neills were one of the best-known Gaelic ruling families in Ireland, and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, remains one of the most famous bearers of the name.
From the historical record
“Jamieson. BREEN. ^TlKn in 1607 Hugh ONeill, earl of Tyrone, went into voluntary exile, the government of James I. wished to dis- place his adherents from Ulster, in order to introduce an English colony there. One of the seven native septs thus dispossessed”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom