The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Ira!

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Meanings and history of the name Ira: | Edit

Ira has its origins in Hebrew, and means "watchful." Ira appears in the Bible as one of the "mighty men."

Famous real-life people named Ira: | Edit

Ira Plato, host of NPR's Science Friday
Ira Glass, host of This American Life on National Public Radio
Ira Gershwin, American lyricist
Ira Hayes, Pima Native American and one of the Marines who raised the U.S. flag at Iwo Jima in the iconic WWII photograph; he was thrust uncomfortably into the spotlight as a hero and died a tragic early death; Peter LaFarge's song about his life, "The Ballad of Ira Hayes," has been widely covered (by Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt, among others)

Ira in song, story & screen: | Edit

Character from 1990's tv show "Mad About You" with Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser.