Neil
1338760
215386751
2008-05-27T23:32:47Z
MisterSheik
91279
{{two other uses||people named Neil|Neil (name)}}
'''Neil''' is a [[given name]] of [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] origin. The name is a perfection of '[[Niall]]', perhaps derived from the [[Vocative case|vocative]] form, 'Nèill'. It comes into French and Norman-[[Latin]] as '''Nigell -us''', originally pronounced almost identically. The name, like many Gaelic names, was borrowed into [[Old Norse|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 [[India]]n 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
* Neill
* Nellus
* Niel
* Neel
* Nil
* [[Nigel]]
* Kneale
==See also==
* [[MacNeil]]
* [[Neill]]
* [[Nelson (surname)|Nelson]]
* [[O'Neill]]
{{surname|Neil|no cat}}
{{given name|Neil|nocat}}
[[Category:Given names]]
[[Category:Irish given names]]
[[Category:Surnames]]
[[de:Neil]]
[[fr:Neil]]