An Irish surname, the O'Neill name came from the Gaelic term ‘niadh’ which means a champion. The spelling variations for O'Neill include O’Neal, Oneile, O’Neil and Ui Neill. In England the O'Neill family name is concentrated in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham and the city of London. In Scotland there is a scattering of the O'Neill name across the country. Most are in the Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Midlothian regions. In Ireland many O'Neill families originated in County Clara, County Limerick and County Tyrone, the Ulster and Munster regions. Within the United States the O'Neill family name began in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Famous: Ed O'Neill (movie and television actor), Dan O'Neill (journalist and writer), Darren O'Neill (champion boxer from Ireland), Jack O'Neill (professional baseball player), Mark O'Neill (professional rugby player from Australia), Peter O'Neill (professional soccer player from Ireland), Rose Cecil O'Neill (illustrator who created the Kewpie Doll character), Sharon O'Neill (singer and songwriter from New Zealand) and Tony O'Neill (musician).