boys' name ★ peaked 2012

Eli

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #104 Trend ↓ Falling 31%
Rank 2025
#104
among boys · ↓12 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
3,453
named Eli · -9% vs 2024
How common
1 in 500
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2012
8,110 babies
All-time total
154,512
#226 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Eli popularity over time

154,512 babies have been named Eli since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 721 721 72 – #121
1890s – 492 492 49 -32% #220
1900s – 483 483 48 -2% #255
1910s 6 1,991 1,997 200 +313% #285
1920s 12 2,520 2,532 253 +27% #341
1930s – 1,592 1,592 159 -37% #411
1940s – 1,288 1,288 129 -19% #492
1950s – 1,346 1,346 135 +5% #575
1960s 5 1,323 1,328 133 -1% #639
1970s 42 3,610 3,652 365 +175% #353
1980s 84 5,455 5,539 554 +52% #337
1990s 132 8,562 8,694 869 +57% #276
2000s 216 28,043 28,259 2,826 +225% #90
2010s 313 69,900 70,213 7,021 +148% #43
2020s (to 2025) 207 26,169 26,376 4,396 -37% #60

Where Eli is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 3,212 1.88 #110
2027 3,047 1.78 #118
2028 2,913 1.71 #124
2029 2,804 1.64 #129
2030 2,714 1.59 #132

Where Eli is most popular

Boys named Eli per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 2.42 per 1,000. Strongest in Wyoming, Alaska, and North Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Eli born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Wyoming 36 6.22 +157%
Alaska 68 5.71 +136%
North Dakota 81 4.74 +96%
Hawaii 72 4.64 +92%
New Mexico 148 4.49 +86%
Vermont 28 4.46 +84%
Maine 86 4.43 +83%
West Virginia 143 4.38 +81%
Montana 71 4.03 +66%
Louisiana 408 3.99 +65%
New Hampshire 86 3.87 +60%
District of Columbia 55 3.73 +54%
Iowa 251 3.64 +51%
Idaho 148 3.62 +50%
Wisconsin 408 3.44 +42%
South Dakota 64 3.44 +42%
Utah 328 3.44 +42%
Kansas 229 3.34 +38%
Rhode Island 53 3.25 +34%
Michigan 649 3.17 +31%
Kentucky 318 3.17 +31%
New York 1,346 3.11 +29%
Oklahoma 271 3.06 +27%
Tennessee 544 3.01 +25%
Pennsylvania 799 3.01 +24%
Nebraska 130 2.99 +24%
Minnesota 366 2.98 +23%
Arkansas 187 2.95 +22%
Missouri 407 2.94 +21%
Colorado 372 2.88 +19%
Alabama 313 2.86 +18%
Maryland 341 2.86 +18%
Nevada 163 2.86 +18%
Arizona 464 2.84 +17%
Virginia 518 2.73 +13%
Indiana 437 2.73 +13%
New Jersey 545 2.71 +12%
South Carolina 279 2.70 +12%
North Carolina 685 2.68 +11%
Ohio 707 2.67 +10%
Washington 422 2.58 +7%
Florida 1,217 2.57 +6%
Texas 2,226 2.53 ≈ national
California 2,304 2.52 ≈ national
Georgia 631 2.49 ≈ national
Illinois 629 2.46 ≈ national
Delaware 37 2.44 ≈ national
Massachusetts 335 2.44 ≈ national
Mississippi 137 2.41 ≈ national
Connecticut 161 2.38 ≈ national
Oregon 172 2.27 -6%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Eli

Eli is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #104 in 2025 with 3,418 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 154,512 American babies have been named Eli. Its peak came in 2012, when 8,110 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Eli stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Eli?

The median living Eli is about 12 years old; half are between 7 and 18. An estimated 144 thousand people named Eli are alive in the United States today.

median 12 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Eli year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 35 #4,099 3,418 #104
2024 44 #3,530 3,742 #92
2023 29 #4,678 4,111 #79
2022 41 #3,723 4,704 #69
2021 29 #4,652 4,913 #64
2020 29 #4,576 5,281 #60
2019 33 #4,274 5,539 #62
2018 38 #3,873 6,094 #57
2017 23 #5,556 6,637 #54
2016 33 #4,369 7,132 #50
2015 27 #5,023 7,163 #53
2014 22 #5,850 7,513 #49
2013 36 #4,096 7,952 #43
2012 31 #4,634 8,079 #43
2011 39 #3,862 7,220 #58
2010 31 #4,643 6,571 #65
2009 30 #4,844 4,923 #90
2008 20 #6,631 4,526 #99
2007 20 #6,636 3,253 #129
2006 22 #5,980 2,997 #136
2005 18 #6,622 2,699 #152
2004 42 #3,513 2,557 #156
2003 16 #6,977 1,995 #190
2002 18 #6,220 1,953 #194
2001 21 #5,424 1,644 #213
2000 9 #10,140 1,496 #228
1995 16 #5,756 864 #304
1990 8 #9,521 667 #359
1985 10 #6,592 558 #342
1980 9 #6,946 539 #342
1975 – – 338 #426
1970 – – 232 #530
1965 – – 117 #689
1960 5 #6,636 149 #639
1955 – – 119 #671
1950 – – 139 #575
1945 – – 125 #536
1940 – – 140 #492
1935 – – 175 #419
1930 – – 190 #430
1925 – – 291 #341
1920 7 #4,095 253 #376
1915 – – 269 #317
1910 – – 63 #312
1905 – – 43 #308
1900 – – 45 #316
1895 – – 55 #239
1890 – – 49 #239
1885 – – 56 #214
1880 – – 73 #177

Famous people named Eli

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Eli Manning Eli Manning American football player (born 1981) Contemporary
  2. 2 Eli Roth Eli Roth American film director and screenwriter (born 1972) Contemporary
  3. 3 Eli Wallach Eli Wallach American actor (1915–2014) Contemporary
  4. 4 Eli Cohen Eli Cohen Egyptian-born Israeli spy (1924–1965) Contemporary
  5. 5 Eli Whitney Eli Whitney American inventor (1765–1825) 18th century
  6. 6 Eli Lilly Eli Lilly American pharmacist, Union Army officer, businessman, philanthropist (1838–1898) 19th century
  7. 7 Eli Eli High priest of Shiloh in ancient Israel b. -1128 · Antiquity
  8. 8 Eli Yishai Eli Yishai Israeli politician b. 1962 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Eli Heckscher Eli Heckscher Swedish political economist and economic historian (1879–1952) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Eli, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Eli?

The median living Eli is about 12 years old. Half of all living Elis are between 7 and 18 years old.

How many people named Eli are alive today?

An estimated 144 thousand people named Eli are alive in the United States, based on 154,512 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

How popular is the name Eli in 2025?

Eli ranked #104 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 3,418 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Eli?

154,512 babies have been named Eli in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Eli most popular?

Eli peaked in 2012, when 8,110 newborns received the name.

Is Eli a boy or girl name?

Eli is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Eli rising or falling?

Eli is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Eli become more popular?

Eli is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,714 boys named Eli in 2030, which would rank around #132. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Eli?

Well-known people named Eli include Eli Manning (american football player), Eli Roth (film director), Eli Wallach (actor).

Names like Eli

Names that sound and feel close to Eli: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Eli with similar names → More names starting with E →