View Message

In parts of Eastern Europe, Ira is a nickname for Irene. One of my great-aunts is named Irene and her nickname is Ira. (She's of Ukrainian heritage.)

This message was edited 3/2/2014, 8:32 AM

I only see it as a masculine name. Ezra is similar. Most people I know I ask if they think it sounds like a boy or girl name and they say girl. It's strictly masculine to me though. I think it's the -a ending.

i know a couple of girls named Ira in Australia but they are of Russian parentage and it's short for Irina. I can see Ira working for an Irena (nn Ira) and I much prefer Irena to the two-syllable Irene. I would not directly appropriate the male Ira myself.

No, I think Ira is much too masculine. I just can't imagine Ira on a girl. It just seems so...wrong. I couldn't see a girl named Ira anymore than I could see a girl named David. I think Iris would be a nice alternative, if you like the sound. Ira could even be a nickname if you'd like.

---

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Weekly, live prayer meetings. Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m. (E.T.) Link-> http://stream.tscnyc.ws/t1.html

I think it could work mostly because it ends with an "a" sound.

It's all boy to me.

Ira (EER uh) is the nn for Irina, so written, no. Ira (EYE ruh) is definitely masculine, so for the pronunciation, yes.

Ira is a unisex name to me, but it’s not pronounced the same. Ira as a male name is 'IE-rə' and Ira as a female name is ‘EE-rah'. I know several girls named Ira, all pronounced this way and have never met a male one.

I taught one!

---

I taught a little girl named Ira. She was from Indonesia and she pronounced it "EE-rah". It grew on me quite a lot!

It could work, just as Tate, Blake, Noah, and Ryan do. :D

Ira is all male to me, however there's always the option of Eira. While the pronunciations are similar (and some pronounce them the same), it's definitively female.

I'd say yep. Nothing terribly masculine about Ira, as far as I'm concerned.