Azra vs Ezra: Is Azra okay for a baby boy?

General Name Discussion
1

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there! My husband and I really love the name Azra and chose it before looking much into the meaning, since we’d never heard it before. Have you heard of the name? Would you assume it was masculine or feminine? Does it work for a boy, iyo? We prefer Azra spelling (feminine in other countries) to Asra (masculine in other countries) and [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] (masculine). Thoughts? Thanks so much!! :slight_smile:

2

Azra seems quite unisex so I think it would work on a boy. I’ve come across the name before, but only on Nameberry

3

[name_m]Ezra[/name_m] is 100% masculine to me so I would probably think of Azra as masculine as well.

4

Thanks, ladies! Apparently, Azra is feminine in Arabic and means “virginal, virgin, pure or chaste.” Does this change anything for you?

5

I’ve never heard Azra before, but reads masculine to me because I’m familiar with both [name_m]Ezra[/name_m] and Asra being masculine. However, I think if Azra is feminine in Arabic, and that’s its only established usage, I would spell it Asra instead, because I don’t agree with swapping the genders of names from other cultures outside your own.

6

Yes, I wouldn’t want confusion or upset over his spelling in other far away countries (just in case), but we were so set on Azra and it looks so much more masculine to us than Asra. I have never seen or heard of this name in the US. :confused:

8

It’s such a struggle because it will likely never upset or offend anyone just being used on a male vs female and we much prefer this spelling and have planned for it, siblings and all. Bah! What to do?

9

Then there are male sources that make this decision even harder:

https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-azra-1217825.htm

10

I just did a quick Google search, and every person listed with the first name Azra on the Wikipedia page is female, so for me that would indicate it is a feminine name. And I wouldn’t take the baby centre website to be terribly accurate.

11

I’ve only heard of Azra as an Arabic/Muslim name for a girl. It is popular in Turkey and Bosnia for example.

12

I have never heard the name Azra before, and would assume a baby named Azra was a girl. Personally, I prefer the name [name_m]Ezra[/name_m].

13

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful. <3