About the name Niall
The original Irish spelling of Neil, Niall reaches back to Niall of the Nine Hostages, the semi-legendary high king whose descendants dominate northwest Irish genealogy. Outside Ireland and Britain it remains genuinely uncommon, and it comes with a lifetime of gently correcting people who say NEEL.
Niall is a boy name of Irish (Gaelic) origin, pronounced NYE-ul. On the NameRarity scale it scores 78 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the 1980s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Niall?
Niall currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 7.6 people per million carry it — about 1 in 131,579. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Niall
- Niall HoranIrish singer and member of One Direction
- Niall FergusonScottish historian
Spellings and variants of Niall
Names similar to Niall
Nolan
NOH-lun
Descendant of the noble champion
Eamon
AY-mon
Wealthy protector
Declan
DEK-lun
Full of goodness
Niamh
NEEV
Radiance, brightness
Nora
NOR-ah
Honour, light
Oscar
OS-ker
Deer friend, champion warrior
Blaise
BLAYZ
Lisping, stammering
Brian
BRY-un
Noble, high
Niall — frequently asked questions
What does the name Niall mean?
Niall means "Cloud, champion". It is a name of Irish (Gaelic) origin, most often given to a boy.
How do you pronounce Niall?
Niall is pronounced NYE-ul, with 1 syllable.
How rare is the name Niall?
Niall scores 78 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 131,579 people carry it — about 7.6 per million.
What is the numerology number for Niall?
Niall carries the expression number 3, known as The Storyteller. Its soul urge number is 1 and its personality number is 11.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Niall?
The lucky number for Niall is 3 (with 12, 21, 30 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Lilac Amethyst. The traditional lucky day is Thursday and the associated gemstone is Amethyst.