A FIELD REPORT ON THE NAME
Ira
dusty · bookish · reedy
Origin & Meaning
AI-WrittenFrom the Hebrew name meaning watchful or vigilant. It appears in the Old Testament as a priest and one of King David's guard officers. American parents adopted it steadily throughout the nineteenth century, initially as an austere rural fixture before midcentury songwriters and radio writers gave it a cosmopolitan paper trail.
Fig. 1 — Births per annum, 1880–2025
SSA Data 1880 peak: 968 souls, A.D. 1947 2025
2025: 523 born, rising ↑
Estimated Age
51 yrs
Most Iras were born around 1951 — has dialed a rotary phone in earnest.
Peak Reign
1947
№216 that year
Generation
Boomer, 35%
then Gen X 19% · Gen Alpha 18%
Rarity
Top 2000 all-time
≈63K ever born · now rising
Full Name Rarity — 🔒 Full Nameprint — $4.99
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Estimates from SSA birth records and standard survival rates. Immigration and name changes not counted.
Ira grew up with
SSA Dataduck-and-cover drills·transistor radios·Davy Crockett caps
Data vs. Humans
What the data says
SSA Data
SSA: Ira peaked in 1947.
Estimated average age: 51.
What people think
Opinion LedgerAwaiting human data — cast the first votes.
Ira sounds like someone born in —
Fig. 2 — Style Coordinates
AI Seed · Votes Override at n=30 Vintage Modern
Formal Casual
Soft Strong
Cast your vote No account · one tap
In your mind, Ira sounds more like a —
Voting opens when the ledger goes live. No account. 24h cooldown per question.
Public Opinion Ledger
Ledger Opens Soon
The public has not yet weighed in on Ira. Early ballots carry the most weight.
* Early ballots — fewer than 30 cast so far. The ledger settles at 30.
First Impressions
AI-WrittenThe name reads like a library card cataloged by hand. People tend to picture someone wearing wire-rimmed glasses, carrying a paperback with a cracked spine, or producing a podcast about municipal water rights. It has three letters, two vowels, and zero sharp edges. It sounds both eighty years old and under thirty months.
Field Notes
AI-WrittenField Note 01
Peak usage occurred in 1947 when 968 American boys received the name in a single calendar year.
Field Note 02
About eleven percent of historical bearers were registered as female, making it one of the quietest gender-crossing short names on the record.
Field Note 03
After decades of sitting nearly dormant with the Boomer generation, the name has begun creeping back onto toddler cubbies.
Notable Iras
AI-WrittenIra Gershwinlyricist, b. 1896
Ira HayesUnited States Marine, b. 1923
Ira Levinnovelist and playwright, b. 1929
Ira Glassradio host and producer, b. 1959
Ephemera — If Ira were a…
AI-WrittenCity
New Haven, Connecticut
Color
Linen gray
Job
Used-book appraiser
And what of your name?