Eli
A Hebrew name read as 'ascent' or 'height'. In the Hebrew Bible it belongs to the priest at Shiloh who raised the prophet Samuel.
Eli in 2025
Eli was given to 3,453 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 177th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 960 babies born.
The history of Eli
Eli reached its highest point in 2012, when 8,110 babies were given the name, ranking 61st that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 154,512 babies have been named Eli. Half of them were born before 2012, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation Z.
Eli by decade
| Decade | Babies named Eli | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 721 | 269 |
| 1890s | 492 | 566 |
| 1900s | 483 | 691 |
| 1910s | 1,997 | 649 |
| 1920s | 2,532 | 732 |
| 1930s | 1,592 | 875 |
| 1940s | 1,288 | 1,049 |
| 1950s | 1,346 | 1,273 |
| 1960s | 1,328 | 1,434 |
| 1970s | 3,652 | 772 |
| 1980s | 5,539 | 737 |
| 1990s | 8,694 | 558 |
| 2000s | 28,259 | 143 |
| 2010s | 70,213 | 61 |
| 2020s | 26,376 | 96 |
Where Eli is heading
Eli has fallen 52% over the past decade, from 7,190 babies in 2015 to 3,453 in 2025.
Names like Eli
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Eli.