Esra
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "helper" or "guide".
Name Census estimates that about 612 living Americans carry the first name Esra. It is a predominantly female name (95.8% of registrations). The average person named Esra today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Esra births was 2024 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Esra. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Esra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
612
~ 1 in 560,056 Americans
Peak year
2024
61 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2023 SSA rank
#2,774
Tracked since 1982
Census
Esra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,162 people with the first name Esra, which placed it at #11,172 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,172
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,162 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
77.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Esra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esra is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Esra described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Esra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.2% · 897
- Black or African American7.7% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino6.0% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 63
- Two or more races3.6% · 42
Gender
Gender distribution for Esra
Esra leans heavily female at 95.8% of total registrations, but 26 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Esra as a male name
- Ranked #9,162 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (8 births)
Esra as a female name
- Ranked #2,774 in 2024
- 61 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (61 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Esra leans strongly female. 1,039 people counted with this name were female (89.0%), compared with 128 male bearers (11.0%).
Popularity
Esra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Esra from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 234 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Esra by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Esra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Esras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Esra, while New York, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Esra
The name Esra has its origins in the Hebrew language and is derived from the biblical name Ezra. It first appears in the Old Testament of the Bible, where Ezra was a Jewish scribe and priest who played a pivotal role in the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile.
Esra is believed to be a variation of the Hebrew name Ezra, which means "helper" or "aid." This name has been in use since ancient times and has a rich historical significance, particularly in Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Esra can be found in the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament, which details the life and works of Ezra the scribe. Ezra is known for leading a group of Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem and overseeing the reconstruction of the city and its temple.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Esra or its variations. One of the most famous was Esra Pound (1885-1972), an American poet and critic who was a major figure in the Modernist literary movement. He was known for his influential works, such as "The Cantos" and his promotion of Imagism.
Another notable figure was Esra Taft Benson (1899-1994), an American religious leader who served as the 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death in 1994. He was also the United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In the field of science, Esra Hale (1892-1975) was an American chemist and educator who made significant contributions to the understanding of catalysis and chemical thermodynamics. He was also a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and served as the president of the American Chemical Society.
Another notable figure was Esra Edeen Chasan (1914-1997), an American artist and sculptor known for her abstract works and her contributions to the Modernist art movement. Her sculptures and installations can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
Finally, Esra Bilgiç (born 1992) is a Turkish actress and model who has gained popularity for her roles in several Turkish television series, including "Ramo" and "Kuzey Yıldızı."
These individuals, spanning different eras and fields, exemplify the diverse and rich history associated with the name Esra, which has its roots in the ancient Hebrew language and continues to be used around the world today.
People
Esra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Esra as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Esra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Esra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 612 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Esra going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 560,056 US residents.
Is Esra a common name?
We classify Esra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 621 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Esra most popular?
The single biggest year for Esra was 2024, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Esra is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Esra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,162 people with the name Esra, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,172 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Esra in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Esra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Esra leans strongly female. 1,039 people counted with this name were female (89.0%), compared with 128 male bearers (11.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Esra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Esra is White at 77.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.7%) and Hispanic (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Esra most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Esra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.2% (897 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Esra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Esra a female name?
Yes, 95.8% of people registered as Esra in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Esra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Esra in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Esra can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Esra?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Esra at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.