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Ari

Diminutive of Ariel, Hebrew
"lion of God"
Linda Rosenkrantz
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Updated Mon Sep 22 2025

Ari Origin and Meaning

The name Ari is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "lion of God".

Ari, the short form of Ariel (or any other Ari- beginning name, such as Aristotle) stands up better as a boys’ name than its progenitor does. It is also short for Aristotle, as in Onassis, and is a prominent character on TV's Entourage -- the uberagent Ari Gold.

Among other notable bearers have been Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary for President George W. Bush and Ari Emanuel, powerful talent agent and possible inspiration for Ari Gold.

Ari Ben Canaan is the main character in the Leon Uris novel Exodus, played by Paul Newman on screen, and Ari is the name of one of the Tenenbaum sons in The Royal Tenenbaums.

# 399 in the US

Ari Rank in US Top 1000

# 172 on Nameberry

Ari Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Ari

20 Names Similar to Ari

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Ari.

Famous People Named Ari

  • Ari Millen
    actor in sci,fi thriller "Orphan Black"
  • Ari Shapiro
    radio journalist on NPR
  • Ari Folman
    Israeli film director, screenwriter and film score composer
  • Ari Staprans Leff
    known by his stage name Lauv, American singer, songwriter and record producer
  • Ari "Y2K" Starace
    record producer

The name Ari in Pop Culture

  • Ari Gold
    character on Entourage
  • Ari Haswari
    rogue Mossad agent on NCIS
  • Ari Batchelder
    Eraser in the Maximum Ride series
  • Ari Tenenbaum
    son of Chas Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums"
  • Ari
    character in Haley Newsome's webcomic "Unfamiliar"

The name Ari in Nameberry Blog Posts