Eli

Eli derives from the Hebrew name Eli, meaning my God or possibly high, exalted, and appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name of a high priest of Israel who served at Shiloh and raised the prophet Samuel. The name has been in use among English speakers since the Protestant Reformation, when biblical names gained broad popularity, and was notably borne by Eli Whitney, the American inventor of the cotton gin. As a feminine name, it functions in Spanish and Scandinavian languages as a short form of longer names such as Elisabeth or Elisa. The Kurdish form ʿElî reflects the Arabic Ali, sharing the root meaning of elevated or sublime.