Descendants of Niall — the most powerful Gaelic dynasty in Ulster, and among the oldest recorded family names in Europe.
Gaelic Origin · Descendants of Niall
O'Neill traces to Niall Glúndub, a tenth-century King of Tara descended from the great Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Uí Néill dynasty dominated Ulster for the better part of a thousand years, most famously under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
Rarely does a family name reach back a full millennium and still mean exactly what it always did — the line of Niall, unbroken.
Irish form: Ó Néill
