Eli - Meaning of Eli

What does Eli mean?

Pronounce
Eli

[ 2 syll. e-li, el-i ] The baby boy name Eli is sometimes used as a girl name. Its pronunciation is IYLay †. Eli is used chiefly in the English, Hebrew, and Yiddish languages, and it is derived from Hebrew and English origins. Hebrew origin, English and Hebrew use: The name is derived from the Hebrew 'eli' (meaning height, ascension), or it could also be taken as the short form of various Jewish names starting with the element 'el' (God, powerful). It was borne in the Bible by the priest and judge who raised and taught the prophet Samuel, and was consequently popular with English Puritans in the 17th century. It later saw a revival in the 19th century.

In addition, Eli is a contraction of Elias in the English and Hebrew languages.

Eli is also a contraction of the name Eliezer (English, German, and Hebrew) in the English and Hebrew languages.

Eli is also a contraction of the name Elijah (English and Hebrew).

Eli is also a contraction of the name Elisha (English and Hebrew).

Eli is also a variant of the name Ellis (English and Welsh) in the Yiddish language.

Elay, Elier, Eliy, Ellie, Elliot, Eloi, Eloy (English), and Elye are variants of Eli.

Elie (English, French, and Old French variant spelling) and Ely (English and Hebrew variant spelling) are other forms of Eli.

See also the related categories, judge (king), god, yiddish, puritans, english, powerful, prophet, revival, element, biblical, priest (theologian), hebrew, and jewish.

Eli is popular as a baby name for boys, and it is also viewed as fairly trendy. The name's popularity has been rising since the 1950s. At the modest peak of its usage in 2012, 0.398% of baby boys were given the name Eli. Its ranking then was #44. In 2018, its usage was 0.312% and its ranking #58, and it was the 2nd most popular after Elijah, out of all boy names in its group. In 2018, the name was twice as popular as Eli. Eli has in the past century been predominantly given to baby boys.

Baby names that sound like Eli include Ely, Elay, Eloy, Elu, Elwell, Ewould, Ilia, Ilie, Ilija, Iliya, Illya, Iloe, Ilow, Ilowe, Ilya, Elia, Elihu, Elois, Iejiel, and Ilio.

† Pronunciation for Eli: IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; L as in "lay (L.EY)" ; AY as in "side (S.AY.D)"

A famous person named Eli is Inventor Eli Whitney, born 8 December 1765 - 8 January 1825, Westboro, Massachusetts.