Ezra

EZ-rah

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The name Ezra means “help, helper.” It comes from the Hebrew language tradition.

Ezra was a priestly scribe in the Hebrew Bible who led the return of Jews from exile in Babylon. Poet Ezra Pound brought it literary cachet. It has been one of the fastest-rising biblical names, entering the top 25.

From the Hebrew עֶזְרָא, meaning help or helper, a shortened form of Azaryahu — God has helped. The clipping is ancient rather than modern, and the full form appears elsewhere in the same biblical books.

Ezra the scribe led a return from Babylonian exile in the fifth century BCE and is credited in Jewish tradition with re-establishing the Torah at the centre of religious life — a reform substantial enough that he is sometimes called a second Moses. The poet Ezra Pound gave the name a more contested modern association. It entered the American top thirty in the 2020s.

• Ezra Pound (American poet)
• Ezra Miller (American actor)
• Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend frontman)

Sibling names that share Ezra's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.