Neala vs Neale
American parents have registered 920 Neales since 1880, against 595 Nealas. But in 2025 it was Neala that was commoner, 8 babies to fewer than five.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Neala Neale
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 101 years in which either name was published, Neale for 72 years and Neala for 29 years. The lead changed hands 11 times.
Side by side
| Neala | Neale | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 595 | 920 |
| Most in one year | 38 | 28 |
| Babies in 2025 | 8 | under 5 |
| Estimated living today | 560 | 410 |
| Median age today | 15 | 62 |
| Peak year | 2009 | 1937 |
| Best rank | 4,013th girls | 1,265th boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 10,917th | unranked |
| First recorded | 1938 | 1916 |
| Girls / boys | 595 / 0 | 5 / 915 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Neales alive today are over 62; half the Nealas are over 15. That is 47 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Neala and Neale.