McNeil

name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mcneil" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“McNeil” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,882. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,882
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A surname.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mcneil · McNeil · English

McNeil · rank #30,882 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,882
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH McNally

Nearest frequency peer: McNally (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “McNeil”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “McNeil” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

McNeil vs McNeill
86% similar
McNeil vs McNair
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for McNeil
PropertyValue
HeadwordMcNeil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters6
Frequency rank#30,882
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “McNeil”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).McNeillands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “McNally” (#30,881), “MCS” (#30,883), “McFadden” (#30,880). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “McNeil” is #30,882. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around McNeil, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #30,882 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for McNeil, with forms such as "cmneil", "mccneil", and "mcenil". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "McNeill", "McNair", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”). The correct English form is McNeil, spelled M-C-N-E-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    A town in Columbia County, Arkansas, United States.
  3. 3
    An unincorporated community in Caldwell County, Texas, United States.
  4. 4
    An unincorporated community in Travis County, Texas, United States.

Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cmneil
  • mccneil
  • mcenil
  • mcneli
  • mcniel
  • mcnneil
  • mmcneil
  • mnceil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of McNeil - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cmneil2mccneil1mcenil2mcneli2mcniel2mcnneil1mmcneil1mnceil2
Edit distance from "McNeil"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "McNeil"?
"McNeil" is spelled M-C-N-E-I-L.
What does "McNeil" mean?
As a proper noun, "McNeil" means: A surname.
What words are commonly confused with "McNeil"?
"McNeil" is commonly confused with "McNeill", "McNair". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "McNeil"?
Anglicized form of Irish and Scottish Gaelic Mac Néill (“son of Níall”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "McNeil", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

macron#30,875Muscat#30,891looped#30,869Nippon#30,898

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Leiden8 variantskimono8 variantsperky8 variantsimpure8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list