Eli (name)
The given name Eli has several origins. All masculine names are derived from Hebrew:
- with spelling עֵלִי, a reference to Eli, the high priest in the Books of Samuel. Traditional English-speaking Christian uses of the name are generally based on this Eli. The usual pronunciation is /ˈiːlaɪ/.[1]
- with spelling אלי, an abbreviation of Elijah, Elisha, Eliezer, Elhanan or Elimelech.
- with spelling אלי, an independent Hebrew name meaning "My God."
Eli can also be a feminine name, a Nordic short form of Helena.[2]
People with this name include:
Males
- Eli Amir (אלי עמיר, (born 1937) Israeli writer and peace activist
- Eli Bebout, (born 1946), Wyoming politician
- Eli Beeding, U.S. Air Force captain and rocket test subject
- Eli Biham, (אלי ביהם), Israeli cryptographer
- Eli M. Black, (Elihu), (1921–1975) American businessman
- Eli Whitney Blake, two different American inventors (father and son)
- Eli Broad (born 1933) American billionaire, philanthropist, art collector
- Eli Metcalfe Bruce (1828–1866) philanthropist, financier and politician from Kentucky
- Eli Franklin Burton, (1879–1948), Canadian physicist
- Eli Cohen, (אלי כהן) (1965 – 1924), Israeli spy
- Eli Heckscher, (1879–1952) Swedish economist
- Eli Jones Henkle, (1825 — 1893), U.S. Congressman from Maryland
- Eli Hurvitz (born 1932), Israeli industrialist
- Eli H. Janney, (1831–1912), engineer, confederate soldier
- Eli Langer, Canadian artist
- Eli Lilly (1838–1898) American soldier, pharmaceutical chemist, and industrialist, founder of Eli Lilly and Company
- Eli Lilly (industrialist), (1885–1977) American industrialist, grandson of the Colonel
- Eli Long, (1837–1903), General in the Union Army in the American Civil War
- Eli Manning, (Elisha), (born 1981) American football player
- Eli Noam, (born 1946) professor at Columbia University
- Eli Ohana, (אלי אוחנה), Israeli football player
- Eli M. Oboler (1915–1983) librarian, Idaho State University and writer
- Eli Thomas Reich (1913–1999) US Vice Admiral
- Eli Roth (born 1972) American film director
- Eli M. Saulsbury (1817–1893) U.S. Senator from Delaware
- Eli C. D. Shortridge, (1830–1908), Governor of North Dakota
- Eli Siegel (1902–1978), Latvian-American poet, critic and philosopher
- Eli Terry (1772–1852) inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut
- Eli Thayer, (1819–1899), member of the US House of Representatives from Massachusetts
- Eli Todd Tappan (1824–1888) American educator, mathematician, author, lawyer and newspaper editor
- Eli Todd, (1769–1833) pioneer in the treatment of the mentally ill in Connecticut
- Eli Wallach, (born 1915), movie actor
- Eli L. Whiteley, (1913–1986), American awarded Medal of Honor
- Eli Whitney, Jr., (1765–1825) American inventor of the cotton gin
- Elie Wiesel, (Eliezer), (born 1928), Human rights activist, Holocaust writer
- Eli Yale (Elihu) (1649–1721), benefactor of Yale University
- Eli Yishai, (אליהו "אלי" ישי), Israeli politician
- Eli Yatzpan (born 1965), Israeli television host and comedian
Females
Fictional
Fictional characters with this given name are:
- Eli "Weevil" Navarro, a fictional character on the television series Veronica Mars, portrayed by Francis Capra
- Eli Wallace a fictional character on the science fiction television series Stargate Universe.
- Eli Vance, a fictional character in the video game Half-Life 2
- Eli Anatole Leonard, fictional character from the animated Robotech series
- Eli (Demonology 101), fictional character from the online comic Demonology 101
- Eli (Xena), a fictional character on Xena: Warrior Princess
- Eli Dingle, a fictional character in British soap Emmerdale played by Joseph Gilgun.
- Eli (Hollyoaks), a fictional character in Hollyoaks
- Eli, the American version first name of the Cardcaptor Sakura character Eriol Hiiragizawa
- Eli, a fictional character on Children of The Corn: Boy Preachers
- Seaguard Eli, a fictional character from the video game Guild Wars
- Eli Sunday, a character from Paul Thomas Anderson's film There Will Be Blood, adapted from Upton Sinclair's book Oil!
- Eli Stone, a fictional character in the ABC show Eli Stone
- Eli, the Barrow Boy, fictional character from the Decemberists song of the same name.
- Eli Cash, a fictional character played by Owen Wilson in the movie The Royal Tenenbaums
- Eli Goldsworthy, a character in Degrassi
- Eli Loker, a character that never lies on the TV show Lie To Me.
- Eli, one of the main characters in the 2004 Swedish vampire novel Let the Right One In and in the 2008 film adaptation.
- Eli, a cloner from the show Heroes.
- Eli David, a fictional character on the television series NCIS, portrayed by Michael Nouri.
- Eli Walker, a fictional character from the film The Unborn (2009 film).
- Eli Wurman, a fictional character played by Al Pacino in the film People I Know.
- Eli, a fictional character (played by Robert Duvall) in the post-apocalyptic thriller The Road.
- Eli, a fictional character (played by Denzel Washington) in the post-apocalyptic thriller The Book of Eli.
References