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Eleni

Eleni: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“torch; shining light”
Origin
Greek
Say it
eh-LEH-nee · 3 syllables
Used for
Girls

Modern Greek form of Helen. The deeper etymology of Helen is ancient and not fully certain, but it is traditionally associated with light or torch.

Greek namesNames meaning lightClassic namesInternational names

How popular is Eleni?

202477.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Eleni in 2024255

2024 rank#1,003 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 18806,579

Eleni is rising: use over the last five years is 1.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Eleni

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Laineybright shining one · English
  • Helentorch; shining light · Greek
  • Elainebright, shining light · French
  • Alenabright, shining light · Slavic
  • Ellentorch; bright shining one · Greek
  • Elinabright, shining one · Greek
  • Hellentorch; shining light · Greek
  • Helenetorch; shining light · Greek

Eleni questions

What does the name Eleni mean?

Eleni means "torch; shining light". It comes from Greek. Modern Greek form of Helen. The deeper etymology of Helen is ancient and not fully certain, but it is traditionally associated with light or torch.

Is Eleni a boy or girl name?

Eleni is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Eleni?

255 US babies were named Eleni in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Eleni?

Eleni is usually pronounced eh-LEH-nee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.