Ira

¹ American  

[ahy-ruh] / ˈaɪ rə /

noun

1. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “watchful.”

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IRA ² American  

Or I.R.A.

1. individual retirement account.

2. Irish Republican Army.

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IRA British  

abbreviation

1. Irish Republican Army

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Example Sentences

My first name was inspired by “Liza,” the 1929 song with Ira Gershwin’s lyrics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Such disruptions can no longer be easily dismissed as one-off issues, says Ira Joseph, a researcher at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

In a statement shared with The Times, Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus attributed the cancellation to “the evolving daytime television landscape.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

Enter “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” created by Martin and “House of the Dragon” co-executive producer Ira Parker, and part of a TV franchise that’s continuing to expand despite delivering diminishing returns.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

It was a very hot night—Selvam and Ira were sleeping out in the open, in the small square in front of our hut which I had swept and washed with dung that morning.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya