Eli
A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "my God".
Name Census estimates that about 140,722 living Americans carry the first name Eli. It sits at #92 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Eli today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eli births was 2012 (8,107 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Alejandro (139,671).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eli. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Eli with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Eli is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 982 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Eli is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
141K
~ 1 in 2,436 Americans
Peak year
2012
8,107 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#92
Tracked since 1880
Census
Eli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 122,713 people with the first name Eli, which placed it at #461 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#461
National first-name rank
People counted
123K
122,713 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
40.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eli is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.4%) and Black (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eli described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.5% · 81,572
- Hispanic or Latino19.4% · 23,812
- Black or African American5.5% · 6,725
- Two or more races5.4% · 6,579
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 2,765
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1,260
Gender
Gender distribution for Eli
Out of the 150,972 babies given the name Eli since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Eli as a male name
- Ranked #92 in 2024
- 3,723 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (8,076 births)
Eli as a female name
- Ranked #3,515 in 2024
- 44 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (44 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eli leans strongly male. 120,639 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 2,074 female bearers (1.7%).
Popularity
Eli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eli from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 70,184 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eli by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Eli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Elis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Eli, while Delaware, Wyoming, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,824 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eli
The name Eli has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is derived from the Hebrew word "Eliyahu," which means "my God is Yahweh." The name Eli is a shortened form of this longer version.
In the Hebrew Bible, Eli was a high priest and judge in ancient Israel. He is mentioned in the Books of Samuel, where he raised the young Samuel to serve in the temple. Eli's life and story are significant in the religious and cultural history of the Israelites.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eli can be found in the Book of Samuel, which is believed to have been written around the 7th century BCE. The name also appears in other ancient texts, such as the Talmud and various Jewish writings.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Eli. One of the most famous was Eli Whitney, an American inventor born in 1765, who is credited with inventing the cotton gin, a revolutionary machine that significantly impacted the cotton industry.
Another well-known Eli was Eli Wallach, an American actor born in 1915, who gained recognition for his roles in films such as "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." He had a long and successful career in both film and theatre.
In the world of literature, Eli Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor born in 1928, was a prominent writer and activist. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his efforts in promoting human rights and peace.
Eli Hurvitz, an Israeli businessman and philanthropist born in 1934, was the co-founder of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, one of the largest generic drug companies in the world. He was instrumental in the growth and success of the company.
Eli Broad, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist born in 1933, made his fortune in the homebuilding and insurance industries. He is also known for his significant contributions to art museums and education initiatives through his charitable foundations.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Eli, but the name's rich cultural and historical roots make it a timeless and meaningful choice.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Eli
People
Eli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eli as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140,722 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eli going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,436 US residents.
Is Eli a common name?
We classify Eli as "Common". It ranks above 99.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 150,972 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eli most popular?
The single biggest year for Eli was 2012, when 8,107 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eli is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 122,713 people with the name Eli, or 40.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #461 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eli in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eli leans strongly male. 120,639 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 2,074 female bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eli is White at 66.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (19.4%) and Black (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.5% (81,572 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eli a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Eli in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Eli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eli in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eli can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Eli?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.