Meaning & origin
What it means
Wali goes back to Arabic وَلِيّ, meaning “prophet, saint.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Arabic وَلِيّ (“prophet, saint”); its root is Arabic و ل ي.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1951. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wali through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,248
- 1,248 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 65 babies
- 2025
- 56
- #2,448 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −22%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 56 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,448 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 21.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 65 in 2016. In 2025, New York and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,213 as a first name in 2020; 1,332 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wali’s family of names
The ring: spellings.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Wali, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tobin
“The Lord is good”
87% boys · 13% girls
Simeon
“hearkening”
>99% boys
Daud
“the beloved one”
>99% boys
Ibrahim
“father of a multitude; father of nations” · “father of a multitude (of nations)”
>99% boys
Davi
“Beloved” · “darling”
86% boys · 14% girls
Âdem
Âdem is a masculine given name from Arabic, ultimately from Proto-Semitic. It is used in Turkish.
>99% boys
Deiniol
“God is my judge”
>99% boys
Davin
“the beloved one” · “Beloved”
>99% boys