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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Irish and Scottish : Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Néill, a patronymic from the personal name Niall (genitive Néill), thought to mean ‘champion’ (see Neill). In Scotland MacNeills are associated with Barra and Gigha in the Hebrides; some of them went to Antrim and Derry in Ireland.

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