Lysander
Masculine · “liberator of men”
Lysander means liberator of men, and the Spartan admiral who carried it ended the Peloponnesian War by starving Athens into surrender.
How old is the name Lysander?
Lysander first appears in US birth records in 1931 — 94 years ago. The typical Lysander is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Lysander are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Lysander most popular?
Lysander peaked in 2025, reaching #1708 nationally. Today it ranks #1708, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Where it comes from
From lysis aner to Lysander
The story of Lysander
Lysander destroyed the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami in 405 BC and took the city the following year, ending twenty-seven years of war. Shakespeare gave the name to one of the lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is how most English speakers know it. It appears in American records rising and is in current use.
Meaning
liberator of men
From the Greek lysis, 'a loosening' or 'release', and aner, 'man' — the genitive andros gives the second half. The same lysis gives English 'analysis' and 'paralysis'. Both elements are ordinary Greek and the compound is undisputed.
How the name formed
- lysis aner
- Lysandros
- Lysander
Related forms: Λύσανδρος · Lisandro · Lisandro
Pronouncing Lysander
ly-SAN-dur
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Greek Lysandros places the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Lysander
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
- 1931
- Most boys named
- 202595 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1708reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +43.9%95 in 2025, from 66
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.
Lysander in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Λύσανδρος in Greek — transliteration
- Lisandro in Spanish — related form
- Lisandro in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Florida.
Lysanders among us
people named Lysander are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 17,980 born in 2025 was named Lysander
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Lysander
- #1708
- Lysander on the 2025 chart
- #818
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Lysander went to 95 boys in 2025, but Lisander and Lyzander are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 110, which makes it the 818th most-given boys’ name of the year — 890 places above the chart.
- Lysander95
- Lisander8
- Lyzander7
About 1 boy in 15,528 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 17,980 for Lysander itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Haris test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Lysander's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Haris climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Haris's path sketches the road Lysander is walking now.
Lysander 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 Lysander is headed
Lysander looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 54% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Lysander beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Lysander in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The liberator meaning is transparent and unusually strong.
- A Spartan admiral who ended a twenty-seven-year war carries it.
- Shakespeare gives it to a lover in one of his best-known comedies.
- Three syllables and a distinctly classical register.
- The historical Lysander's liberation was of Sparta's allies, not of Athens.
- Alexander is close enough in shape to cause confusion.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Lysander to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Lysander? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Lysander
Masculine · #1708 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Lysanders are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Lysander are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Lysander?
- Lysander is the most-used spelling in US records — 95 of the 110 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Lisander and Lyzander.
- How popular is the name Lysander in 2025?
- Lysander ranks #1708 among US boy names in 2025, with 95 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Lysander?
- About 1 in every 17,980 US boys born in 2025 was named Lysander — 95 in all.
- Will my child share the name Lysander with classmates?
- Lysander will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Lysander
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Antoine#1708 · Kainoa#1708 · Henri#1708 · Azir#1708 · Koast#1708 · Ayansh#1708 · Zuriel#1708 · Marlo#1708
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Lysander? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Lysander and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle