Eli
Top 1000
About Eli
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.
Pronounced EE-ly.
As of October 2026, Eli ranked #104 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #43 in 2013, Nameberry popularity #136.
Editor's take: The name Eli is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "ascended, uplifted, high".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #49 | 7,508 | 3,908.6 |
| 2015 | #53 | 7,158 | 3,734.5 |
| 2016 | #50 | 7,129 | 3,756.6 |
| 2017 | #54 | 6,636 | 3,585.2 |
| 2018 | #57 | 6,091 | 3,353.8 |
| 2019 | #62 | 5,535 | 3,084.9 |
| 2020 | #60 | 5,278 | 3,057.8 |
| 2021 | #64 | 4,910 | 2,806.5 |
| 2022 | #69 | 4,702 | 2,693 |
| 2023 | #79 | 4,106 | 2,400.4 |
| 2024 | #92 | 3,723 | 2,160.9 |
| 2025 | #104 | 3,418 | 2,001.1 |
World rankings
Similar names
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Eli on lists
Famous Elis
- 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
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"
Variations & nicknames
- ElieFrench