Veli

Veli is a male Finnish and Estonian given name, meaning brother. It is also an Ottoman Turkish name, mainly used by Ottoman affiliated populations as a male given name, meaning guardian. Its original etymology in Arabic meaning a "friend of God" when used in a religious-mystical context, and is the singular form of Evliya.

People

Given name

Veli Acar, Turkish footballer
Veli-Matti Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper
Veli Kavlak, Austrian footballer
Veli-Pekka Ketola, Finnish ice hockey player
Veli Kızılkaya, Turkish footballer
Veli Koota, Finnish boxer
Veli Lampi, Finnish footballer
Veli Lehtelä, Finnish rower
Veli-Matti Lindström, Finnish ski jumper
Veli Merikoski, Finnish politician and professor
Veli Nieminen, Finnish gymnast and sports shooter
Veli Paloheimo, Finnish tennis player
Veli Saarinen, Finnish cross-country skier

Surname

Gursel Veli (born 1982), Turkish-Bulgarian footballer
Hacı Bayram-ı Veli (1352–1430), Turkish poet, founder of the Bayrami Sufi sect
Haji Bektash Veli, Sufi mystic
Orhan Veli (1914–1950), Turkish poet
Bayezid II (Sultân Bayezid-î Velî) was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II

Mythologic people

Veļi, dead-soul spirits in Latvian mythology

Places

Veli (Gagra District), a village in Abkhazia, Georgia
Veli, a short name for the Croatian village Veli Lošinj
Veli, a former name of the Armenian town Tsaghkavan, Tavush

Other uses

Veli (film), a 1985 Indian Tamil film
Veli Railway Station, Trivandrum, Kerala, India