Neil

Neil is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is a perfection of 'Niall', perhaps derived from the vocative form, 'Nèill'. It comes into Norman as Néel (through Old Norse Njàl ) and Norman-Latin as Nigell -us ( > English Nigel ), originally pronounced almost identically. The name, like many Gaelic names, was loaned into Norse, where it became Njál. The original Gaelic meaning of Neil is unclear, but Champion or Cloud are the most popular meanings assigned to it.

The unrelated Indian name 'Neel' (blue) has overlapping variants 'Neal' and 'Neil'. 'Neel' comes from the Sanskrit word Nilakantha (pronounced as neela-kanta), which refers to the hue (sky blue color) of the Hindu deity Shiva's neck as he drinks poison.

Variants

Anglicised variants include:

• Neal
• Neale
• Neall
• Nellus
• Niel

• Neel
• Nil
• Nigel
• Kneale

See also

• MacNeil
• Neill
• Nelson
• O'Neill

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