Ira ( or or ) is a male and female given name. As a Sanskrit male name, its meaning is that of the wind-God, Vayu. As a Sanskrit female name (ईरा I-RA), its meaning is "the Earth". It is also the name given to Goddess Saraswati (Goddess of wisdom and knowledge). In Russian, Ira () is a female given name, a diminutive of Irina. In Finland, Ira is a female given name, a version of the name of the Greek goddess Hera, Ήρα, queen of the gods and wife of Zeus. In Hebrew, the name Ira (, Modern Hebrew Ira, Tiberian Hebrew ʻÎrâ) has several meanings, among them "Watchful". In the United States, the given name Ira was in the top 100 names from 1880, the first year recorded, until 1896 and steadily declined for over a century; only in 2016 did the name return to the Social Security Administration's top 1000 names. Biblical Ira the Jairite, King David's priest or chief minister Ira ben Ikkesh of Tekoa, a fighter among King David's Mighty Warriors People Ira H. Abbott (1906–1988), American aerospace engineer Ira Aldridge (1807–1867), American actor Ira Allen (1751–1814), American politician Ira Alterman (1945–2015), American journalist and author Ira Angustain (born 1958), American actor Ira Aten (1862–1953), American sheriff Ira Babcock (1808–1888), American pioneer Ira Baldwin (1895–1999), American scientist Ira Coleman Batman (1862–1934), American jurist and politician Ira Steven Behr (born 1953), American television producer Ira Berkow (born 1940), American writer Ira Berlin (born 1941), American historian Ira Bowman (born 1973), American basketball player Ira Brown (born 1982), Japanese basketball player Ira Byock (born 1951), American physician and author Ira Colitz (1916-1998), American businessman and politician Ira Condict (1764–1811), American college president Ira Clifton Copley (1864–1947), American politician and newspaper publisher Ira P. DeLoache (1879-1965), American real estate developer Ira Deutchman (born 1953), American film producer Ira Drukier (born 1945), American hotelier Ira Dubey (born 1984), Indian film actress Ira C. Eaker (1896–1987), American general Ira Allen Eastman (1809–1881), American politician Ira Elliot (born 1963), American drummer Ira Flatow (born 1949), American radio and television journalist Ira Fuchs (born 1948), American computer scientist Ira A. Fulton (born 1931), American businessman Ira Gershwin (1896–1983), American lyricist Ira Gitler (1928–2019), American jazz historian and journalist Ira Glass (born 1959), American radio presenter Ira B. Harkey Jr. (1918–2006), American writer Ira Hamilton Hayes (1923–1955), United States Marine and Pima Native American,