O’Neill
Ó Néill · descendant of Niall
O’Neill is Ó Néill in Irish, said oh NAYL, and means descendant of Niall.
Niall Glúndub, king of Tara, died in 919 and his grandson took the name. The Red Hand of Ulster is their badge, and the family ruled the north until the Flight of the Earls in 1607.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Néill
- His daughter: Ní Néill
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Néill
- The family together: Uí Néill
Where it comes from
Tyrone and Antrim
Also spelt
O’Neill, Neill, Neil, Nielle
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.