Eli
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Meaning
ascended, uplifted
Famously borne by Eli Tomac, the American supercross and motocross champion.
The story
In the biblical story, young Samuel keeps getting up and going to Eli. He has heard someone call and assumes it is the older man. Eli eventually understands what Samuel has not: the call is from God. He tells the boy how to answer. In this scene from the First Book of Samuel, Eli is the older guide who helps the boy understand what he has heard. The biblical Hebrew name is connected with "ascension." A separately spelled Hebrew Eli means "my God" and can also be a short form of Elijah. English puts those routes into the same small space, but they remain different explanations. One route leads back to the older man who helps Samuel recognize a call; the other can begin with Elijah and end at Eli.
The formal names behind Eli
Eli is an established short form of each of these names.
Elijah · Hebrew origin · my God is Yahweh; English form of the Hebrew name Eliyyahu
Elias · Hebrew origin · my God is Yahweh (form of Elijah); a beloved staple among Ethiopian Christian families
Alijah · Hebrew origin · variant spelling of Elijah, traditionally translated as 'the Lord is my God'
How popular is Eli around the world?
In the United States, 26,376 babies were named Eli between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 46 boys were registered as Eli in 2017.
Eli is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, New South Wales, Norway, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Brazil, France, Austria, Chile, Poland, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 830
In the United States, 26,376 babies were named Eli between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Eli peaked in the 2020s. Eli went to 7,190 US babies in 2015 and 3,453 in 2025, 48% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 4002017
In South Australia, 46 boys were registered as Eli in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 780
In New Zealand, 74 boys named Eli were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 930
In Canada, 393 boys named Eli were born in 2024, the 69th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New South Wales
#89 · 2025
In New South Wales, 97 boys named Eli were registered in 2025, ranked 89th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Norway
1 in 1,400register 2026
In Norway, 19 girls were given the name Eli in 2025.
share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
England and Wales
1 in 1,600
In England and Wales, 373 boys named Eli were born in 2025, the 137th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 2,400
In Ireland, 23 boys named Eli were born in 2025, the 207th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 2,500
In Scotland, 18 boys named Eli were registered in 2024, the 227th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Mexico City City
1 in 3,300
In Mexico City, there were 36 registrations of Eli in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (3 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Puerto Rico
1 in 3,600
In Puerto Rico, 5 babies were named Eli in 2025, and 222 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Brazil
1 in 5,400
At the 2022 census, 37,565 people in Brazil were named Eli, the 703rd most common name, with a median age of 54.
Among people named Eli living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1960s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 424 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 5,600
In France, about 115 boys named Eli were born in 2025, the 413th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Eli, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 25,000
In Austria, 2 boys named Eli were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
In Austria, 1 girl named Eli was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 6 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Chile
1 in 25,000
In Chile, 7 boys were registered as Eli in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Poland
1 in 62,000
In Poland, 4 boys named Eli were born in 2025, the 490th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Argentina
1 in 83,000
In Argentina, 8 newborns were given the name Eli in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 140,000
In Spain, 179 residents are named Eli, ranked 4,857th among women, with a mean age of 30.7 years.
In Spain, 151 residents are named Eli, ranked 5,865th among men, with a mean age of 34.7 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Montevideo City
last on record 2009
Eli is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
When you meet Eli
Most people given the name Eli in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Eli travels
Jewish American · ascended, my God; a beloved short classic that has surged in recent decades
Hebrew · ascended, my God
Keep exploring
Names like Eli · Names that go with Eli · Middle names for Eli · Jewish American baby names · Hebrew baby names · Action sports names · Short names · What is Eli short for? · Climbers and fallers
The Eli deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Eli truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Eli fits with your family’s names and surname.
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