A form of Esdras or Ezra, from Hebrew, meaning 'help' or 'helper.'
Edras is a variant form of Esdras, itself the Greek and Latin rendering of the Hebrew name Ezra, meaning 'help' or 'helper.' Ezra was the great priestly scribe who, according to the Hebrew Bible, led a pivotal return of Jewish exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem in the fifth century BCE. He is credited with reading the Torah publicly to the gathered people — an act that scholars consider a founding moment of Judaism as a text-centered religion — and with restoring the covenant community after the devastation of exile.
In the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical scriptures, the Books of Esdras expand on this legacy, making the name prominent in Catholic, Orthodox, and Ethiopian Christian traditions alongside its foundational Jewish place. The Latinized Esdras carried the name through centuries of Christian scholarship and was widely used in medieval Europe among clergy and learned men who saw themselves as inheritors of Ezra's scribal mission. Over time it found particularly warm reception in Latin American Catholic communities, where biblical names have remained in continuous, affectionate use even as they faded in parts of Northern Europe.
The shortened form Edras smooths the name's path into modern pronunciation without losing its scriptural gravity. Today, Edras is rare enough to feel distinctive but grounded enough in ancient history to carry real weight. It appeals to families with deep religious roots — particularly in Hispanic and African American communities — who want a name that honors faith and lineage without defaulting to the most common biblical choices. The name suggests a helper, a teacher, a keeper of something important.