Neil Gaiman's Real Name: Neil Richard Gaiman

Quick answer: Neil Gaiman's documented full name is Neil Richard Gaiman. Britannica lists that form as "in full" and dates his birth to November 10, 1960, in Portchester, Hampshire, England. Encyclopedia.com, reprinting a contemporary authors entry headed "Gaiman, Neil (Richard) 1960–," independently dates the birth to November 10, 1960, in Portchester, England (Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Neil Gaiman. Britannica uses Neil Richard Gaiman; Encyclopedia.com styles the name Neil (Richard) Gaiman. Both agree on a Portchester birth on November 10, 1960. Britannica specifies Hampshire; Encyclopedia.com says Portchester, England, without naming the county, a difference of precision rather than a contradiction. Encyclopedia.com names his parents as David Bernard Gaiman, a company director, and Sheila Goldman Gaiman, a pharmacist. Britannica says he grew up in Sussex and attended Whitgift School in Croydon, then worked as a freelance journalist after graduating, earning his first author credit for a paperback biography of the pop group Duran Duran in 1984.

Career highlights

Britannica says he earned praise for fantasy tales that frequently feature a darkly humorous tone, and lists the comic-book series Black Orchid (1988) and The Sandman (1989) and the novels American Gods (2001), Coraline (2002), and The Graveyard Book (2008). It also records an early collaboration with artist Dave McKean on the graphic novel Violent Cases (1987). Encyclopedia.com independently lists The Sandman, American Gods, Coraline, Stardust, The Graveyard Book, and the 1990 novel Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett, along with Hugo, Nebula, and Mythopoeic honors noted in that entry. Britannica independently lists Hugo Awards and a 2009 Newbery Medal.

Legal matters

In January 2025, the Associated Press reported that Gaiman released a statement denying that he had ever engaged in non-consensual sex after a magazine published allegations from several women accusing him of sexual assault. AP said a New York Magazine article detailed allegations by eight women. The same report said New Zealand Police would not say whether he was, or had been, under investigation, and that one woman who publicly identified herself had told the magazine she filed a police report in January 2023. As of that January 2025 AP report, no criminal conviction was described (AP). On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal, without prejudice, of a former nanny's civil lawsuit in Wisconsin, finding New Zealand the proper forum; it did not decide the allegations (RNZ; Seventh Circuit opinion).

Name notes for searchers

Neil Richard Gaiman is the documented full name in Britannica; Encyclopedia.com uses Neil (Richard) Gaiman. The professional name is Neil Gaiman. Searchers looking for the author of The Sandman, American Gods, or Coraline are usually aiming at the same person.