Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Eli

Say it EE-ly 2 syllables

Hebrew · “ascent”

Common across Quebec, Northern Ireland, three Australian states, and New Zealand. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 19 more places.

1 in 319 boys born in Northern Ireland in 2025. Number 90 there.

Eli in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 6, rare in 22.
Eli in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales137 (down)20253731 in 7291102020
Scotland190 (down)2025221 in 8931462020
Northern Ireland90 (down)2025261 in 319592020
Ireland207 (down)2025231 in 1,0321202020
North America
Ontario (province)115 (down)2024110about 1 in 544752019
Quebec (province)45 (down)2025126about 1 in 231412020
British Columbia (province)132 (down)202326about 1 in 501532018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)89 (down)202597542020
Victoria (state)83 (down)202588592020
Queensland (state)64 (down)202585402020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025632020
New Zealand47 (down)202574342020
Western Europe
France408 (down)20251651 in 1,8343822020
Netherlands291 (down)202554about 1 in 1,2322392020
Central Europe
Austria1,241 (down)202521 in 19,0349612020
Switzerland380 (up)2025221 in 1,6364112020
Berlin (city)950 (down)20232about 1 in 7,7554222018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list20234902018
Bonn (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)Rare: below the complete list20254032020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Sweden310 (down)202525about 1 in 1,7252482020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
ItalyRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland490 (new in the list)202541 in 31,601Not listed2020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
Israel (published as אלי)550 (down)202415about 1 in 5,6734052019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. Israel publishes names in Hebrew script; the original is shown beside the name. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

Eli comes from the Hebrew for 'ascent', and it is a cognate of the Arabic-derived Ali. In the Bible Eli is the priest who raised Samuel.

2 more paragraphs

It has two syllables, EE-ly, and a short, bright sound. Related forms include Elie, Elio, Ely and Eeli.

Eli is found in the lists for Quebec, New Zealand and Queensland. It is also used for girls, though much less often. It is rarer on the Continent. Canadian records put its peak in the late 2010s, but it is now falling in most of the places that record it and rising in none.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
EE-ly · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“ascent”
Origin
Hebrew
Related names
Elie, Elio, Eeli, Heli, Ely, Aelius, Hēlī
Also a girl's name
Across the regions we track, 13% of babies named Eli are girls.
Where Eli comes from (Wiktionary)

From Hebrew עֵלִי (“ascent”); cognate to the Arabic-derived Ali.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Eli. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Eli over time

Rising in 0 of the 15 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 13. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 2017.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Eli in England and Wales: #552 in 1996, a peak of #105 in 2016, and #137 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300#1,000200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #552, 31 boys1997: #554, 32 boys1998: #502, 39 boys1999: #490, 41 boys2000: #568, 33 boys2001: #484, 42 boys2002: #534, 39 boys2003: #499, 48 boys2004: #362, 81 boys2005: #438, 65 boys2006: #387, 89 boys2007: #351, 104 boys2008: #326, 120 boys2009: #308, 134 boys2010: #206, 248 boys2011: #164, 350 boys2012: #145, 402 boys2013: #134, 440 boys2014: #123, 513 boys2015: #119, 538 boys2016: #105, 619 boys2017: #105, 605 boys2018: #111, 556 boys2019: #107, 587 boys2020: #110, 529 boys2021: #105, 570 boys2022: #117, 470 boys2023: #133, 407 boys2024: #135, 394 boys2025: #137, 373 boys#552 in 1996peak #105, 2016#137in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
199655231
199755432
199850239
199949041
200056833
200148442
200253439
200349948
200436281
200543865
200638789
2007351104
2008326120
2009308134
2010206248
2011164350
2012145402
2013134440
2014123513
2015119538
2016105619
2017105605
2018111556
2019107587
2020110529
2021105570
2022117470
2023133407
2024135394
2025137373

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Eli in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2013. Peak: 2017, about 328 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 7.6 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 3.9 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 0 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 0 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 3.3 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 0 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 4 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 3.2 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 3 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 17.6 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 29.2 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 28.8 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 27.8 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 36.7 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 29.1 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 51.9 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 104.9 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 280.3 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 298.7 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 244.9 per 100,000 boys20202015-2019: about 1 in 335 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19297.6
1930–19343.9
1935–19390
1940–19440
1945–19493.3
1950–19540
1955–19594
1960–19643.2
1965–19693
1970–197417.6
1975–197929.2
1980–198428.8
1985–198927.8
1990–199436.7
1995–199929.1
2000–200451.9
2005–2009104.9
2010–2014280.3
2015–2019298.7
2020–2024244.9

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Eli

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Eli, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 755, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 162, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 153, Northern Ireland

  4. 1 in 202, Northern Ireland

  5. 1 in 209, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 387, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 204, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 818, Scotland

  9. 1 in 290, England and Wales

  10. 1 in 913, England and Wales

All 40 brother names for Eli

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Eli's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 62, Poland

  5. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 137, Scotland

  8. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Eli Jack

Syllables 2-1Initials E.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

Sisters for Eli: Eden, Abigail, Zara, and 5 more
  1. EdenRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli · Same initial as Eli
  2. AbigailRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli
  3. ZaraRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli
  4. MollyRose and fell with Eli · As common as Eli
  5. MayaRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli
  6. HannahRose and fell with Eli · Hebrew, like Eli
  7. AvaRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli
  8. BellaRose and fell with Eli · Same generation as Eli

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Eli

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Eli's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  2. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  3. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 14 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  5. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 16 more places.

  6. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 18 more places.

  7. Common across France, the UK, Italy, and 9 more places.

  8. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

Famous people named Eli

Eli Wallach, Eli Whitney, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Eli

How popular is Eli in New Zealand?

Eli ranked #47 in New Zealand in 2025, given to 74 boys.

Is Eli rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 0 of the 15 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 13.

What does Eli mean?

Eli means “ascent”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Eli have?

Eli has 2 syllables: EE-ly.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

0kept

Kept names collect here.

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