Eli is a boy name with a modern feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Eli means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Eli across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Eli has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Eli is a boy name of Hebrew origin meaning “height, ascent”. a priest in the Bible.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 154,512 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 8,066 births |
| Scotland since 1974 | 509 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 511 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 897 births |
| New Zealand top 100, since 1954 | 1,523 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Eli per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 2012 (8,110/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2016 (625/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2019 (72/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2017 (49/yr) · Scotland peaked in 2019 (48/yr).
Eli has been one of the most popular baby names in the United States. It was most common in 2012, when it ranked #61 nationally (given to 8,608 babies that year), and a popular choice in the 2010s.
Ella · Ellie · Eula · Ola · Ila · Ole · Ali · Elle
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