Neel Boy
How popular is Neel?
#1,571 boy name in 2025
108 baby boys were named Neel in the US in 2025, making it the 1571st most popular boy name.
Neel popularity over time
| Rank in 2025 | #1,571 for boys (▲ 285 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 108 boys |
| 10-year trend | Steady (+14% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #1,657 in 2015, #1,798 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 2009 (148 boys) |
| Highest rank | #1,214 in 2009 |
| First recorded | 1918 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.1% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Neel counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Neil family of names ranked #658 for boys in 2025 (#683 the year before), with 396 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Neil | 288 | 73% |
| Neel | 108 | 27% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Neel is most popular
Babies named Neel per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Washington: 0.2 per 1,000 (31 boys)
- New Jersey: 0.2 per 1,000 (33 boys)
- California: 0.1 per 1,000 (100 boys)
- Massachusetts: 0.1 per 1,000 (10 boys)
- Texas: 0.1 per 1,000 (59 boys)
Neel by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 13 | #3,095 |
| 1920s | 16 | #3,814 |
| 1930s | 5 | #3,999 |
| 1940s | 5 | #3,666 |
| 1950s | 14 | #2,797 |
| 1960s | 22 | #3,043 |
| 1970s | 119 | #1,948 |
| 1980s | 289 | #1,655 |
| 1990s | 456 | #1,485 |
| 2000s | 947 | #1,214 |
| 2010s | 964 | #1,250 |
| 2020s | 542 | #1,571 |
Boy names about as popular as Neel
Questions
- Is Neel a boy or girl name?
- Neel is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Neel were boys.
- How popular is the name Neel?
- 108 baby boys were named Neel in the US in 2025, making it the 1571st most popular boy name.
- When was Neel most popular?
- Neel peaked in 2009, when 148 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #1,214 in 2009.
- How many people are named Neel?
- 3,392 babies have been named Neel in the US since 1880. We estimate about 3,289 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 18.
- Where is Neel most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Neel was most common in Washington, at 0.2 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.