Levi
Meaning
traditionally "joined, attached," from the hope Genesis records at his birth; the priestly tribe of Israel descends from him. Centuries of Jewish use, a denim-tinged American ring, and a 2010s surge that made it a fresh-feeling classic
The story
Levi is as old as Genesis: the third son of Jacob and Leah, whose name, joined or attached, carried his mother's hope that her husband's heart would finally be bound to hers. His descendants, the Levites, became Israel's priestly tribe, and the name has walked through Jewish history ever since. America gave it a second, unexpected life when Levi Strauss, a Bavarian immigrant selling dry goods to Gold Rush miners, put the name on the world's blue jeans. In the records it never disappeared, a steady thread running across the generations, but its true boom is recent: from the 2000s onward Levi has climbed relentlessly, and it now stands higher than it ever has. Somehow it works both ways at once, ancient and broken-in, scripture and denim, which may be exactly why this century has claimed it so completely.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Levi peaked in the 2020s.
Popularity in Brazil
88,228 people · the #352 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 2,304 · median age 7
Among people named Levi living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 31,093 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Levi
Most people given the name Levi 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.
The Levi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Levi 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 Levi fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Levi travels
Jewish American · a beloved patriarchal tribal name now hugely popular
Keep exploring
Names like Levi · Middle names for Levi · Jewish American baby names · Hebrew baby names · Short names
Does Levi fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Levi to your family’s tree →