Esdras is the Greek and Latin form of Ezra, a Hebrew name meaning help.
Esdras is the Greek and Latin transliteration of Ezra, the Hebrew name meaning 'help' or 'helper,' derived from the root 'azar.' In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra was a pivotal figure: a scribe and priest who led a group of Jewish exiles back from Babylon to Jerusalem in the 5th century BCE and undertook the reformation of Jewish religious life. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah chronicle this restoration.
When those texts were translated into Greek for the Septuagint — the foundational Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures — and later into Latin, the name took the form Esdras, which then became standard in Catholic and Orthodox Christian traditions. The Apocrypha contains two additional books known as 1 Esdras and 2 Esdras (also called 4 Ezra), expanding on the canonical narrative and containing some of the most theologically rich apocalyptic writing in the intertestamental literature. This gave Esdras a particularly resonant presence in early Christian communities where those texts were read and valued.
Saint Esdras is venerated as a prophet in both Eastern Orthodox and some Catholic traditions, and the name remained in use across medieval Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal where it settled into the Hispanic Catholic naming tradition. Today Esdras is rare in most of the world but persists with quiet loyalty in Latin American communities, particularly in Mexico, Central America, and among Latino communities in the United States. It carries a solemn, biblical weight — immediately recognizable to those steeped in religious tradition, and beautifully unfamiliar to those who are not. It is a name that rewards curiosity, opening a door into layers of scriptural history.