Eli (name)

The given name Eli has several origins, all from Hebrew:
# with spelling _he. 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 IPA|/ˈiːlaɪ/. [cite book|title=The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names|last=Withycombe|first=E. G.|edition=3rd edition|publisher=Omega Books|origdate=1944|date=1976|isbn=1-855007-059-8|location=London]
# with spelling _he. אלי, an abbeviation of Elijah or Elisha or Eliezer.
# with spelling _he. אלי, an independent Hebrew name meaning "My God."

People with this name include:
* Eli Amir ( _he. 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, ( _he. אלי ביהם), Israeli cryptogropher
* 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, ( _he. אלי כהן) (lived 1924 – 1965), Israeli spy
* Eli Heckscher, (1879 - 1952) Swedish economist
* Eli Jones Henkle, (1825 — 1893), U.S. Congressman from Maryland
* Eli Hamilton Janney, (1831 – 1912), engineer, confederate soldier
* Colonel 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, ( _he. 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, (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, ( _he. אליהו "אלי" ישי), Israeli politician

Fictional characters with this given name are:
*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 ""
*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
*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

References