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.

Given name

 * Veli Acar, Turkish footballer
 * 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