Eli
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin. From Hebrew עֵלִי (“ascent”); cognate to the Arabic-derived Ali.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Eli (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Eli has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | – | – |
| 1999 | – | – |
| 2000 | – | – |
| 2001 | – | – |
| 2002 | – | – |
| 2003 | – | – |
| 2004 | 2 | 5 |
| 2005 | – | 5 |
| 2006 | 2 | 4 |
| 2007 | 3 | 7 |
| 2008 | 2 | 8 |
| 2009 | 4 | 12 |
| 2010 | 4 | 17 |
| 2011 | 6 | 19 |
| 2012 | 5 | 8 |
| 2013 | 3 | 29 |
| 2014 | 5 | 22 |
| 2015 | 4 | 25 |
| 2016 | 7 | 37 |
| 2017 | 8 | 40 |
| 2018 | 5 | 38 |
| 2019 | 12 | 37 |
| 2020 | 7 | 41 |
| 2021 | 6 | 43 |
| 2022 | 8 | 27 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 136 | 112 |
| 2000 | 140 | 113 |
| 2001 | 145 | 121 |
| 2002 | 149 | 124 |
| 2003 | 147 | 128 |
| 2004 | 143 | 135 |
| 2005 | 137 | 136 |
| 2006 | 140 | 147 |
| 2007 | 141 | 153 |
| 2008 | 148 | 166 |
| 2009 | 150 | 176 |
| 2010 | 160 | 195 |
| 2011 | 163 | 219 |
| 2012 | 171 | 225 |
| 2013 | 168 | 259 |
| 2014 | 177 | 285 |
| 2015 | 185 | 311 |
| 2016 | 202 | 355 |
| 2017 | 214 | 398 |
| 2018 | 213 | 443 |
| 2019 | 222 | 486 |
| 2020 | 235 | 528 |
Eli in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Eli.Hi! My name is Eli.
- Jag ska fika med Eli i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Eli this afternoon.
- Eli har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Eli has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Elis mamma är lärare.Eli's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Elis mamma is Eli's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Eli
How do you pronounce Eli in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Eli in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Eli mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin. From Hebrew עֵלִי (“ascent”); cognate to the Arabic-derived Ali.
How popular is Eli in Sweden?
35 babies were named Eli in 2022. In 2020, 763 people in Sweden had Eli as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2021 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.