Eli
Eli is a boy name of Hebrew origin, meaning Ascended; my God.
What Eli means
Ascended; my God.
Eli is short — 3 letters, and ends on a vowel, which tends to make a name sound open and carry well when called across a room.
Where Eli comes from
Hebrew names are frequently built as short phrases rather than single words, and many are theophoric — they contain a name of God as one element. This is why so many carry a full sentence of meaning.
Eli is recorded as Hebrew in origin. Browse other Hebrew names.
How popular is Eli?
In the boy name rankings we track, Eli falls outside the top 100. That puts it in the broad middle ground where most names live: familiar to those who know it, uncommon enough to still feel like a choice.
The character of Eli
Two ideas meet in Eli: scripture and faith. Names carrying more than one theme tend to be the ones that suit a wider range of siblings.
Names like Eli
These share Eli's themes, origin, or both — closest first.
- Enoch — Dedicated and devoted.
- Abraham — Father of multitudes.
- Abram — Exalted father.
- Cohen — Priest.
- Hosea — Salvation.
- Isaiah — God is salvation.
- Jeremiah — God will exalt.
- John — God is gracious.
- Joshua — God is salvation.
- Judah — Praised.
- Lazarus — God is my help.
- Malachi — My messenger.