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Eli

EE-lie
Hebrew
"ascended, uplifted, high"
Brynn McKeon
By Brynn McKeon
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Eli Origin and Meaning

The name Eli is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "ascended, uplifted, high".

With its sharp, succinct sounds and cool, laidback style, Eli is a popular choice among parents today. Compact and punchy, it is a Biblical name with plenty of charm.

Derived from the Hebrew ’aly, the name Eli means "high" or "ascended." In the Old Testament, Eli was a high priest of the Israelites, who trained and gave guidance to the prophet Samuel.

While the Biblical Eli suffered an unhappy end due to his sons’ misdeeds, his name hasn’t shared the same fate. Used since the 17th century, Eli has never been out of the US Top 1000. It has featured in the Top 100 for the last decade, and is currently popular in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and The Netherlands too.

Eli is also used as a shortened form of Elijah, Elias, Eliezer, or even Elliot and in some Scandinavian countries, is it used as a feminine name, most often as a nickname for Elisabet or Elin. With its unisex potential and its longer forms ranking highly, Eli might feel more popular than it actually is.

Notable namesakes include Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, Eli Long, a Civil War general, and Eli Roth, a film director, screenwriter, and actor. Enjoyed by the general public and celebrities alike, Eli has been chosen by CNN anchor Campbell Brown, SNL alum Rachel Dratch, and actor Kevin Weisman.

Spirited but solid, no-fuss Eli is given to over 4000 boys each year, so you wouldn’t be alone in loving the name. If you don’t want your baby to have share however, you could consider other Biblical E names such as Eben, Elim, Enosh, or Eran, or perhaps other 3 letter gems, like Ira, Ari, Jem, Nye, or Ivo.

# 92 in the US

Eli Rank in US Top 1000

# 267 on Nameberry

Eli Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Eli

20 Names Similar to Eli

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Famous People Named Eli

  • Elisha Nelson "Eli" Manning
    American NFL football player; brother of football players Peyton and Cooper Manning
  • Eli Raphael Roth
    American actor and director
  • Eli Whitney
    American inventor
  • Eli Herschel Wallach
    American actor
  • Eli Long
    American Civil War general
  • Eli Charles Daniel Shortridge
    Americna politician; 3rd governor of North Dakota, USA
  • Eli Metcalfe Bruce
    American Confederate Congressman
  • Eli Jones Henkle
    U.S. Congressman from Maryland
  • Eli Thayer
    U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts
  • Eli May Saulsbury
    U.S. Senator from Delaware
  • Elijah "Eli" Levi Dale
    YouTuber from The Dale Tribe family vloggers
  • Eli James Vonnegut (b. 1980)
    son of Mark Vonnegut; grandson of novelist Kurt Vonnegut
  • Eli Alistair Stephens (b. 2007)
    son of actors Toby Stephens and Anna,Louise Plowman
  • Eli James Senor (b. 2007)
    son of TV journalist Campbell Brown and Daniel Samuel Senor
  • Eli Samuel Weisman (b. 2008)
    son of actor Kevin Weisman
  • Eli David
    Lloyd, son of actor Gareth David,Lloyd
  • Eli Benjamin Wahl (b. 2010)
    son of comedienne Rachel Dratch and John Wahl
  • Eli Christopher Ivery (b. 2016)
    son of actress Ellen Pompeo and Chris Ivery

The name Eli in Pop Culture

  • Eli Goldsworthy
    character on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
  • Eli Sammler
    character on TV's "Once and Again"
  • Eli Lloyd
    nurse on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
  • Eli Cottonmouth
    character in movie "Dog Days of Summer"
  • Eli
    character on TV's "Xena: Warrior Princess"
  • Eli
    character in "Not a Drop to Drink" by Mindy McGinnis
  • Eli "Weevil" Navarro
    character on TV's "Veronica Mars"
  • Eli David
    father of Ziva David on TV's "NCIS"
  • Eli
    song by Bosnian Rainbows
  • Eli Stone
    TV Show
  • Eli Loker
    character on TV's 'Lie To Me'
  • Eli Yanakakis
    main protagonist in the Compound novels
  • Elijah Leslie "Eli" Pepperjack
    character in the Netflix series "Trollhunters"
  • Eli Cash
    a character in The Royal Tenenbaums
  • Eli Moon
    character in the anime/manga "Cardcaptors"

International Variations of the name Eli

  • Elie
    French

The name Eli in Nameberry Blog Posts