Head to head · Girls' names
Lyra vs Vienna
#435 vs #434 in 2025 · both climbing the charts fast
Vienna is a whisker ahead (#434 vs #435 in 2025) and both are climbing the charts fast. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Vienna leads 5 measures of 6; Lyra leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Lyra —, Vienna #908 — Vienna higher
- 1890s: Lyra #1461, Vienna #1596 — Lyra higher
- 1900s: Lyra —, Vienna #1578 — Vienna higher
- 1910s: Lyra #3221, Vienna #1604 — Vienna higher
- 1920s: Lyra #3658, Vienna #2808 — Vienna higher
- 1930s: Lyra #4226, Vienna #3639 — Vienna higher
- 1940s: Lyra #4435, Vienna #3750 — Vienna higher
- 1950s: Lyra #5141, Vienna #3288 — Vienna higher
- 1960s: Lyra #5191, Vienna #4339 — Vienna higher
- 1970s: Lyra #5541, Vienna #6265 — Lyra higher
- 1980s: Lyra #6472, Vienna #5694 — Vienna higher
- 1990s: Lyra #8440, Vienna #3848 — Vienna higher
- 2000s: Lyra #3343, Vienna #2501 — Vienna higher
- 2010s: Lyra #919, Vienna #975 — Lyra higher
- 2020s: Lyra #489, Vienna #663 — Lyra higher
Vienna stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Lyra has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Lyra | Vienna |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #908 |
| 1890s | #1461 | #1596 |
| 1900s | — | #1578 |
| 1910s | #3221 | #1604 |
| 1920s | #3658 | #2808 |
| 1930s | #4226 | #3639 |
| 1940s | #4435 | #3750 |
| 1950s | #5141 | #3288 |
| 1960s | #5191 | #4339 |
| 1970s | #5541 | #6265 |
| 1980s | #6472 | #5694 |
| 1990s | #8440 | #3848 |
| 2000s | #3343 | #2501 |
| 2010s | #919 | #975 |
| 2020s | #489 | #663 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Lyra
- England & Wales#83
Vienna
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Lyra
lyre — the stringed instrument, and the constellation named for it
From Greek λύρα, borrowed into Latin. In Greek myth the lyre set among the stars is the one played by Orpheus.
λύρα (Greek) → Lyra (Latin) → Lyra (constellation name in English) → Lyra
How it traveled
The word came first: lyra was the Greek name for the small harp-like instrument, and Latin took it unchanged. Ptolemy included Lyra among his forty-eight constellations in the second century, and it has stayed on every star map since, with Vega — one of the brightest stars in the northern sky — sitting inside it.
Vienna
From Vienna, the Austrian capital
The city name is certain; its origin is not fully settled. The Roman camp on the site was Vindobona, usually read as Celtic elements meaning roughly 'white, fair' and 'settlement, foundation'. A competing account traces the German Wien to Vedunia, a Celtic name for the river running through the city. Either way, the layer a parent can rely on is the place itself.
Vindobona → Wien → Vienne → Vienna
How it traveled
Vienna is a place name that became a personal one, which is a well-worn road in English — the same road Florence and Georgia traveled. The Romans built a garrison called Vindobona on the Danube; the German name Wien and the English Vienna both descend from that ancient naming, though scholars still argue over the exact link.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Lyra
LY-ruh
The common American pronunciation rhymes the first syllable with "my". A LEER-uh pronunciation also exists, closer to the Latin and to the Italian word lira, and both turn up among English speakers — worth deciding early which one your family uses.
- Ly — Informal, family-level clipping; rarely written down.
- Ry — Informal, from the second syllable; overlaps in sound with Ry from Ryan.
- Lyrie — Affectionate diminutive, used mostly with young children.
Vienna
vee-EN-uh
Stress on the middle syllable, exactly as the city is said in American English. Speakers of German will say the city as Wien, which sounds nothing alike — worth knowing rather than worrying about.
- Vi — The most natural short form; also long used on its own and as a short form of Violet and Viola.
- Vee — Informal, spoken more than written.
- Enna — Taken from the middle of the name; used informally within families.
- Vienne — A softened variant sometimes used affectionately; also the French name for the city.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Lyra if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesLyra is 2 syllables to Vienna's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooLyra is on the national lists of England & Wales
Choose Vienna if you want…
- a name on the way upup 370 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itVienna runs 3 syllables, Lyra 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Lyra
Strengths
- Short, two syllables, and spelled the way it is said once the first vowel is settled — no silent letters to explain.
- A word with an unbroken written record from ancient Greek through Latin into modern astronomy.
- Used for children in both the US and the UK, so it travels between English-speaking countries without adjustment.
To consider
- The LY-ruh and LEER-uh pronunciations both circulate, so expect to correct people occasionally, in either direction.
- It lands close to Lyla, Lila, Layla and Lyric in sound and spelling, and will sometimes be written down as one of those.
- The name's wave is very recent, so a child named Lyra is likely to be the only one in her class while meeting others chiefly among children her own age.
Vienna
Strengths
- A spelling almost every English speaker already knows from an atlas, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- One settled pronunciation in American English, matching the city.
- Recognized across Europe in closely related forms — Viena, Vienne, Wien — so it travels without becoming unrecognizable.
To consider
- It is a city first. Most people will hear the place before they hear a person, and small towns named Vienna in Virginia and Georgia are pronounced differently by some locals — vy-ENN-uh.
- In American supermarkets, Vienna also names a canned sausage. It is a minor association, and one that fades quickly once a real Vienna is standing there, but it exists.
- The name is climbing quickly. A child named Vienna now will likely be the only one in her class, but may meet others by the time she is grown — worth knowing if rarity is part of the appeal.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Lyra and Vienna in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Lyra and Vienna?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- British invasion: UK favorites still rare in the US
- Celestial names: written in the stars
- Soft-sounding names built on liquid letters
- Place names on the map and the birth certificate
- all guides
Where Lyra and Vienna each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Lyra or Vienna — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Lyra or Vienna?
- Vienna, in 2025: Vienna ranked #434 with 712 babies; Lyra ranked #435 with 711 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Lyra or Vienna?
- Vienna. Over the last five years Lyra moved up 114 places; Vienna moved up 370 places.
- Which is the older name, Lyra or Vienna?
- Lyra entered the US charts in 1893; Vienna entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, Vienna is the older name.
- How many people are named Lyra and Vienna?
- About 7,900 people named Lyra are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 7,100 people named Vienna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Lyras or Viennas in the classroom?
- Lyra will almost certainly be the only one in school. Vienna will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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