Lyra
Feminine · Greek roots · “lyre”
Lyra is the name of a small constellation that has been cataloged since Ptolemy listed it in the second century — the lyre of Greek myth, hung in the northern sky and anchored by the bright star Vega. The word itself is the ancient Greek and Latin name for the instrument, so the name has been spoken aloud, in one form or another, for well over two thousand years. Two syllables, six letters, and a long-standing place on star charts before it was ever a name on a birth certificate.
How old is the name Lyra?
Lyra first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Lyra is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 7,900 people named Lyra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lyra most popular?
Lyra peaked in 2025, reaching #435 nationally. Today it ranks #435, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From λύρα (Greek) to Lyra
The story of Lyra
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. English speakers knew Lyra as an astronomical term long before they used it for children; the shift into a given name belongs to the modern taste for sky names, alongside Vega and Orion. Philip Pullman gave the name its most visible bearer in fiction with Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of His Dark Materials, published from the mid-1990s onward.
Meaning
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.
How the name formed
- λύραGreek
- LyraLatin
- Lyraconstellation name in English
- Lyra
Related forms: Λύρα · Lira · Lyrah
Pronouncing 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.
Nicknames for Lyra
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 2025711 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #435reached in 2025
- Change vs 2023
- +11.3%711 in 2025, from 639
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Lyra in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Λύρα in Greek — transliteration
- Lira in Italian / Spanish — spelling variant
- Lyrah in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from Office for National Statistics. Sources
Lyras among us
people named Lyra are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 2,261 born in 2025 was named Lyra
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tianna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lyra's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tianna climbed just as high around 1995, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tianna's path sketches the road Lyra is walking now.
Lyra is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Lyra is headed
Lyra should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Lyra beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lyra in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- 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.
- Sits in the familiar pattern of two-syllable names ending in -a, which makes it easy for teachers and classmates to hold on to.
- Carries a clear, concrete reference — an instrument and a constellation anyone can look up or look at.
- 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.
- It is climbing steadily rather than holding still — the rarity it has now is not guaranteed to last through her school years.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Lyra to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Lyra
Feminine · Greek roots · #435 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lyras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,900 people named Lyra are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Lyra in 2025?
- Lyra ranks #435 among US girl names in 2025, with 711 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lyra?
- About 1 in every 2,261 US girls born in 2025 was named Lyra — 711 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lyra with classmates?
- Lyra will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lyra
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Salem#435 · Vienna#434 · Hayden#437 · Maia#433 · Macie#438 · Dream#432 · Maddison#438 · London#431
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lyra? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lyra and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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