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Name at a glance

Ezra

Ezra is a Hebrew name commonly connected with help.

Ranked #20 in US baby names in 2025, rising over the past 5 years.

Ezra is remembered as a priest and scribe who taught the law and helped shape renewal after exile.

Browse names
OriginHebrew
GenderBoy
FeelWise
PronunciationEZ-ruh

Is Ezra biblical?

Yes

Biblical status Direct biblical person

Ezra is a named person in Scripture, the priest and scribe of the post-exilic return in the Old Testament book that bears his name.

Is Ezra a Christian name?

Used by Christians, not distinctively

Christian tradition Christian cultural usage

Ezra's Christian use rests on the biblical scribe associated with Scripture and renewal and is mainly a modern English naming revival without a saint tradition.

Plain answer

Ezra is a biblical priest and scribe, used today largely as a modern biblical name rather than through a distinct church tradition.

Confidence Moderate Last reviewed July 19, 2026 How this works

Meaning

The meaning of Ezra

Ezra is usually connected with help or helper. In the biblical story, the meaning fits a figure who helps restore attention to Scripture after a long season of exile and return.

Name story

A scribe of renewal

Ezra belongs to the post-exile period, when God's people are returning, rebuilding, and learning again how to live as a covenant community.

His name feels concise and modern, but the biblical background is rich: study, teaching, repentance, and the public reading of Scripture.

Biblical arc

Help through Scripture

Ezra's leadership is not mainly military or royal. His influence comes through devotion to God's law and the careful teaching of the people.

For Christian readers, Ezra can suggest spiritual seriousness, literacy, renewal, and the humble work of helping a community remember its foundations.

Sound

How to pronounce Ezra

Phonetic
EZ-ruh
IPA
/ˈɛzɹə/

2 syllables · stress: EZ-ruh · ends in a vowel

Forms

Variants and nicknames

Alternate spellings

  • Esdras
  • Ezrah
  • Ezri

Short forms and nicknames

  • Ez
  • Ezzy

Languages

Ezra in other languages

Hebrew
עֶזְרָאEzra
Greek
ἜσδραςEsdras
Latin
Esdras
Spanish
Esdras
French
Esdras
German
Esra
Italian
Esdra
Russian
ЭзраEzra
Arabic
عُزَيْرUzayrUzayr is traditionally identified with Ezra in Islamic tradition, including a reference in Surat at-Tawbah; the two names are not etymologically related but refer to the same figure.

Christian background

Christian and biblical background

Ezra matters to Christians because he represents a life shaped by Scripture. His story offers a model of study that becomes service, not merely private knowledge.

Scripture

The biblical figure

Ezra is a priest and scribe associated with the return from exile, the teaching of the law, and the renewal of the post-exilic community.

Bearers

Notable people named Ezra

  • biblical

    EzraPriest and scribe in the post-exile period who led religious reform in Jerusalem, author of much of the book of Ezra

  • historical

    Ezra CornellAmerican businessman, co-founder of Western Union and of Cornell University, 1807 to 1874

  • historical

    Ezra PoundAmerican modernist poet and critic, central figure in early twentieth-century literature, 1885 to 1972

  • historical

    Ezra StilesAmerican Congregationalist minister and seventh president of Yale College, 1727 to 1795

  • modern

    Ezra KoenigAmerican singer and frontman of Vampire Weekend, born 1984

Naming history

Naming tradition and history

Ezra has become especially familiar in modern English use, partly because it is short, distinctive, and easy to pronounce. It retains clear biblical depth while feeling fresh.

Recent US use

Ezra in recent US use

Rank in 2025
#20
Peak rank
#13 in 2024
Recent trend
rising over the last 5 years
Years in the SSA records
146 (since 1880)

Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880-2025.

Across genders

Use across genders

Ezra is overwhelmingly used as a boys' name in modern American naming, but also appears in the SSA girls' records, ranked around 834 in the 2025 data. The cross-gender use is a small fraction of the boys' total but has been recurrent enough to register in the official top 1000.

Sibling fit

Sibling name suggestions

For families

For families looking at Ezra

Ezra may suit parents who want a short biblical name with intelligence and spiritual substance. It feels gentle but not weak, serious but not heavy.

Common questions

What does Ezra mean?

Ezra is commonly connected with help or helper.

Is Ezra a biblical name?

Yes. Ezra is a priest and scribe in the Old Testament.

Is Ezra a Christian name?

Yes. Christians use Ezra because of its biblical roots and connection with Scripture and renewal.

Sources

Sources for Ezra

  • A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Brown, Driver, and BriggsSupports: Hebrew etymology (help, helper); meaning.
  • The Book of Ezra, King James Version (KJV 1769)Supports: biblical figure (Ezra 7:10); priest and scribe of the post-exilic return.
  • National baby names data, US Social Security Administration (2025 release)Supports: US popularity.

Last reviewed July 19, 2026. See our methodology, or report an error on the corrections page.

Read next

Related names

NehemiahEzra and Nehemiah are the two leaders of the post-exilic return; their books are joined in the Hebrew canon and tell complementary halves of one story.DanielDaniel served at the Babylonian court during the exile that ended in Ezra's return; both names anchor the exile-and-restoration era.SamuelBoth Ezra and Samuel are remembered as teachers of the Law; Samuel called Israel back to covenant before the monarchy, Ezra after the exile.JeremiahJeremiah prophesied the exile that Ezra returns from; the seventy-year prophecy in Jeremiah 25 frames Ezra's ministry chronologically.