How Many People Are Named Ira?
An estimated 28,084 people in the United States have the first name Ira. It is used for both genders, with 88.9% male. The average bearer is 54 years old, and Ira peaked in popularity in 1947 with 968 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Ira as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Ira paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
28,084
About 1 in 12,205 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
88.9% confidence
Average Age
54
years old
Peak Year
1947
968 births
Total Registered
62,006
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Ira
Ira is predominantly male (88.9%), though 6,902 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Ira as a male name
Ranked #975 in 2024
230 male births in 2024
Peak: 1947 (884 births)
Ira as a female name
Ranked #1,436 in 2024
154 female births in 2024
Peak: 2022 (196 births)
Ira: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Ira span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 8,811 babies were registered. Ira has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Ira by Decade
How has Ira tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 2,551 | 2,379 | 172 | |
| 1890s | 2,171 | 1,916 | 255 | |
| 1900s | 2,073 | 1,714 | 359 | |
| 1910s | 6,767 | 6,115 | 652 | |
| 1920s | 8,811 | 7,911 | 900 | |
| 1930s | 6,495 | 5,838 | 657 | |
| 1940s | 7,813 | 7,156 | 657 | |
| 1950s | 7,579 | 7,026 | 553 | |
| 1960s | 4,730 | 4,412 | 318 | |
| 1970s | 3,297 | 3,107 | 190 | |
| 1980s | 2,249 | 2,098 | 151 | |
| 1990s | 1,280 | 1,184 | 96 | |
| 2000s | 1,201 | 1,070 | 131 | |
| 2010s | 2,785 | 1,805 | 980 | |
| 2020s | 2,204 | 1,373 | 831 | |
Ira by State
Birth registrations for Ira span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania. The lowest are in New Hampshire, Hawaii, Delaware. On average, about 977 Iras were registered per state.
Ira + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Ira as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Ira
Other first names starting with I with a similar number of bearers.
Ira: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ira?
We estimate approximately 28,084 people named Ira are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 12,205 Americans share this first name.
Is Ira a common name?
Ira is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.8% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 62,006 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Ira most popular?
Ira reached peak popularity in 1947, when 968 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Ira is approximately 54 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Ira a male name?
Ira is predominantly male. 88.9% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Ira Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Ira Smith, Ira Johnson, Ira Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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