Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Ezra or Elijah?

42 replies

LoveAndHate · 23/10/2015 23:43

Okay, so I was on here yesterday pleading for help with Hector, Wilbur or Albert. Remember? No? Never mind. By the end of the thread I said 'we' had decided on Ezra. Great. Except my husband now thinks it's too female-sounding (Confused) but 'will consider' Elijah (which he previously vetoed as 'too biblical')

The problem is I've grown to love Ezra overnight....

Are either of these names going to become ubiquitous? Which would you choose? Thanks.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
litiaholcroft · 01/11/2015 16:41

i have a daughter called Ezra. i am half South African and half Fijian and her dad is half Australian and half American so she is mixed race too. she is 13 now so i think that Ezra is more feminine but it is your choice in the end because after all i have no sons.

SophieFaye · 01/11/2015 13:18

I would go with Elijah :)

poocatcherchampion · 29/10/2015 15:50

Yay op

TillyTolly · 29/10/2015 15:45

Where in the country are you? I know 3 Ezras under 18 months in London...

Blondie87 · 28/10/2015 19:21

Love Ezra! Glad your DH has come round.

MitzyLeFrouf · 28/10/2015 14:12

Elijah. Although it is a bit biblical to me too.

Ezra makes me think of a toothless hillbilly from Tennessee.

LumelaMme · 28/10/2015 13:47

I'm also married to a geek....!

nooka · 28/10/2015 05:05

:) dh used Ezzie for his next server instead! Geeks Grin

LumelaMme · 26/10/2015 15:15

High fives nooka
We too had Ezra lined up as a boys name but never got to use it. It's a fab name.

Don't forget Ezra Cornell:
Remarkable in their day, the ideals of the founders, Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, constituted a truly radical educational experiment for the 1860s. From its founding, Cornell University was explicitly non-sectarian and committed to equal educational opportunities for all “persons,” men and women.

EnglishRose1320 · 26/10/2015 15:13

My Brother is called Ezra, so a bit biased but it is a great name!

mayaknew · 26/10/2015 15:01

Love Ezra !!!

chrome100 · 26/10/2015 14:59

I really dislike Ezra (sorry!) Elijah is OK but a bit Biblical.

SummerMonths · 26/10/2015 08:13

I like Ezra although I do know one female and one male with the name. I don't see that as a problem though.

I like Elias too. Prefer that to Elijah. I know two Welsh men called Elias, one shortens it to Eli ("Eeee-lye").

From your original list I love Hector.

Don't rush into a name. Hormones are funny things and I hose names I loved in my hormone addled pregnant state but slightly regret now.

Footle · 25/10/2015 17:23

Thanks for saying so ! I really hope you're able to use this fine name.

LoveAndHate · 25/10/2015 16:43

Thanks, Footle, it does Smile

OP posts:
Footle · 25/10/2015 16:39

It means two ( male ) people to me. Ezra Pound, intriguing historical figure, and also a lovely bright boy at my child's school in the 70s. Hth

LoveAndHate · 25/10/2015 16:33

We know an Elijah who gets 'Ellie'

OP posts:
SwedishEdith · 25/10/2015 13:16

I like Ezra, think it's a great name. Would think Ezra Koenig or Ezra Furman (both good associations) rather than George. Suspect it's moving into the popular zone but I don't know of any IRL.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 25/10/2015 13:07

Far prefer Elijah. Sorry.

LoveAndHate · 25/10/2015 12:30

Thank you, Bond and everyone else, too.

DH has agreed to Ezra! I'm thrilled to have settled this at last Smile

OP posts:
Nataleejah · 25/10/2015 11:27

Ezra. Elijah not really. Elliot maybe?

mrsschu · 24/10/2015 19:10

Not keen on Ezra, it sounds too "trendy" to me. Elijah is better. I'm pretty sure Ezra is a Hebrew/biblical name also though...

BondJayneBond · 24/10/2015 17:26

LoveAndHate - it's really difficult to guess whether your DS would come across other Ezra's in his year group.

Names aren't spread evenly across the country, you'll get some areas where Ezra is relatively popular and others where it's almost unheard of.

And then, these days, the pool of names used seems to be much bigger than a few decades ago when I was at school, so even if Ezra was the most popular name in England, there'd be a smaller proportion of Ezra's in the year than if Ezra was the most popular name 20-30 years ago.

Even with very popular names, there's no telling whether they'll have 2 of the name in the class. In DS1's year at school and DS2's nursery, there's some kids with top 10 names who are the only 'top 10 name' in the class. Some top 10 names I've never heard at school and nursery. Some top 10 names that are carried by 2 or 3 kids in a class.
And some less popular names with 2 kids in a class. As an example, there were 2 David's in DS1's pre-school room at nursery, who've both gone to the same primary school, and David's a very unusual name for small children these days.

TillITookAnArrowToTheKnee · 24/10/2015 10:00

Ezra is currently my top boys name, with Elijah second and Arthur third.

anothernumberone · 24/10/2015 09:58

I know a male Ezra from the Middle East.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Nawi

Swipe left for the next trending thread