Ali
Meaning of Ali
Ali—pronounced AH-lee, a bright clap of sound that seems to leap from the tongue like a matador’s red cape—traces its roots to the Arabic ʿAliyy, “exalted, lofty,” a meaning that rises on warm desert winds and settles gently into Turkish prayer rugs, barrio lullabies, and basketball courts alike. In story after story he appears: the brave cousin of the Prophet, Ali ibn Abi Talib, gleaming with wisdom; the fleet-footed Muhammad Ali, whose gloves danced as lightly as mariposas while he boomed, “float like a butterfly”; the countless boys in today’s United States who help the name hover around the 300th rank, each tiny heartbeat adding a new verse to an ancient corrido of pride. Compact yet resonant, Ali is the linguistic equivalent of a trumpet note in a salsa band—short, golden, impossible to ignore—and its two easy syllables travel effortlessly from the lush patios of Andalucía to the caramel avenues of Los Angeles. For parents seeking a name that feels both timeless and ready to lace up modern sneakers, Ali offers a light-bright wink: a reminder that greatness can begin with just two letters, a sunrise syllable, and a dream that stretches, siempre, toward the high blue.
Pronunciation
Arabic,Turkish
- Pronunced as AH-lee (/ˈɑːli/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Similar Names to Ali
Notable People Named Ali
| Ali Khamenei is an Iranian cleric and politician who has been supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East and the second-longest-serving modern Iranian leader after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. |
| Ali Abdullah Saleh was a Yemeni military officer and politician who served as president of North Yemen from 1978 to 1990 and of the unified Republic of Yemen from 1990 to 2012, resigning after the Yemeni revolution. |
| Iranian coach and former playmaker Mohammad Ali Karimi Pashaki starred in Iran, the UAE, Qatar, and Germany, scored 38 goals in 127 caps for Iran, won 2004 Asian Footballer of the Year and Asian Cup top scorer honors, and retired in 2014 after 18 years. |
| Ali Daei is an Iranian former striker and coach who captained his national team and holds the Asian record with 108 international goals. |
| Ali al-Sistani - Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, dean of the Najaf Hawza, is a leading Twelver Shia authority who champions democratization, rule of law, nonsectarian Iraqi nationalism, and opposes foreign interference. |
| Ali Fazal is an Indian actor in Hindi films and TV who debuted in The Other End of the Line in 2008 and later appeared in the miniseries Bollywood Hero in 2009. |
| Ali Ardashir Larijani is an Iranian politician and former Revolutionary Guard officer who has served as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council since 2025, was Speaker of Parliament from 2008 to 2020, and is a longtime member of the Expediency Discernment Council. |
| Ali MacGraw - Elizabeth Alice MacGraw is an American actress who won a Golden Globe for Goodbye, Columbus, earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Love Story, was named the top female film star in 1972, later starred in films like The Getaway and Convoy, and wrote the memoir Moving Pictures. |
| Ali Gatie is an Iraqi Canadian singer and songwriter whose 2019 single It's You reached the US Billboard Hot 100 and charted globally. |
| Ali Abdussalam Treki was a veteran Libyan diplomat who served twice as foreign minister, repeatedly as UN ambassador, and as president of the UN General Assembly from 2009 to 2010. |
| Ali Payami is a Swedish record producer, songwriter and DJ. |
| Ali Modu Sheriff is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Borno State from 2003 to 2011, becoming the first in the state to serve two consecutive terms. |
| Ali Saleh Kiba, known as Ali Kiba or King Kiba, is a Tanzanian singer and songwriter from Kigoma, a leading Bongo Flava star and owner of Kings Music and Crown Media. |
| Ali B, born Ali Bouali, is a Moroccan Dutch rapper and entertainer who is among the most prominent in the Netherlands, known for collaborations with Akon and Marco Borsato and leadership in Dutch interethnic relations. |
| Ali al-Jifri - Habib Ali Zain al Abidin al Jifri is a Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar and spiritual teacher based in Cairo and the founder of the Tabah Foundation in Abu Dhabi. |
