Boys' name · peaked in 2012
Eli name popularity since 1925
149,481 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Eli (0.7% girls, 99.3% boys). Half of them were born in 2012 or earlier, so the typical Eli is about 14 years old in 2026. Eli peaked in 2012 as the #43 name for boys, and it ranked #104 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 149,481
- Named Eli, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #104
- for boys in 2025 (3,418 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.3% boys
- 999 girls · 148,482 boys
- Most popular in
- Alaska
- 1.78× its national share
Peak year is the year Eli made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Eli births per year, 1925–2025
2012 was the biggest year for Eli both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Steepest fall: Between 1934 and 1939, Eli's share of baby boys fell by 41%.
- Fastest rise: Between 1969 and 1974, it became 3.3× more common, from 1 in 13,900 baby boys to 1 in 4,220.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Eli's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Eli.
Decade by decade
Babies named Eli in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 1,194 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,592 | #419 |
| 1940s | 0 | 1,288 | #536 |
| 1950s | 0 | 1,346 | #671 |
| 1960s | 5 | 1,323 | #689 |
| 1970s | 42 | 3,610 | #426 |
| 1980s | 84 | 5,455 | #342 |
| 1990s | 132 | 8,562 | #304 |
| 2000s | 216 | 28,043 | #152 |
| 2010s | 313 | 69,900 | #53 |
| 2020–25 | 207 | 26,169 | #104 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
49.9% of babies named Eli from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Eli is most popular
The index compares Eli's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Eli.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 1.78× | 387 |
| Idaho | 1.73× | 1,010 |
| Utah | 1.73× | 2,154 |
| Nevada | 1.72× | 901 |
| Arizona | 1.57× | 2,987 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Eli and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Eli (this page) | 148,482 | 2012 |
| Ely | 4,063 | 1882 |
| Elie | 2,400 | 1886 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Eli's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Eli.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Eli (2012).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data