Season finale season on TV usually includes a birth or two, and Once Upon a Time’s season finale featured the birth, and naming, of Prince Charming and Snow White’s son. And what moniker did they give the Prince? That’d be the decidedly not too royal (or too fairy tale) Neal.
Neal has a bit of a history on the show—it’s the name picked by the son of Rumpelstiltskin, who had previously gone by the name Baelfire—and who had fallen in love and had a child with Charming and Snow’s daughter, Emma. (Whew!)
Neal is an Irish name that means cloud, and it’s more typically spelled Neil. (Though I kinda prefer the “a” in the middle.) With the more popular spelling, there’s a crew of famous namesakes—man on the moon Neil Armstrong, pop-singing institution Neil Diamond, and of course, actor Neil Patrick Harris, to name a few. After years in the top 400, Neal started a nosedive in the mid 1980s, and hasn’t been in the top 1000 since. But could ABC’s fairy-tale show help bring it back?
Neal could be easily paired with some of the longer names that are in vogue. I’d love it with Parker, Andrew, Oliver and Xavier—either name could be in the middle spot. (I’m especially liking the combos Andrew Neal and Neal Parker!)
What do you think of the name Neal? Too 1950s, or ready to reclaim the limelight?
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