Name in Japanese I Ira

Ira in Japanese

アイラ
Katakana
アイラ
Hiragana
あいら
Romaji (Hepburn)
Aira

This is the common, natural katakana for Ira. Katakana approximates English sounds, so a slightly different spelling can also be valid — treat this as a reliable default, not the single "correct" answer.

How Ira sounds in Japanese

Read it one katakana at a time:

A
I
Ra

Full reading: Aira

Do more with Ira in Japanese

Why Ira is written in katakana

In Japanese, foreign names are written in katakana — the angular script reserved for words borrowed from other languages. So on a form, a name tag, a delivery slip or a news article in Japan, Ira appears as アイラ. This is the correct and respectful way a non-Japanese name is represented; it is not a kanji "translation". A Japanese reader sees アイラ and immediately reads it by its sound, Aira.

Katakana is a syllabary, so English sounds are fitted to the nearest Japanese syllables and every consonant (except ん) is followed by a vowel. That is why Ira becomes アイラ rather than a letter-for-letter copy. More than one katakana spelling can be reasonable for the same name, which is why we flag whether a spelling is a long-established one or a natural default.