Lyra

Did you know?

A few things about Lyra you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Lyra

Lyra McKee

Northern Irish journalist (1990-2019)

Choose Lyra and your child shares a first name with Lyra McKee, a Northern Irish journalist. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Lyra, like who?” Lyra McKee's Wikipedia article is available in 23 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Lyra McKee on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: International Journalism Festival from Perugia, Italia, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,260 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Lyra, 711 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Lyra would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryLyra first shows up in US birth records in 1893, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 132 years since.
• 🏆Best yearLyra is at its all-time high right now: #435 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowLyra is 42× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 95,238 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 2,260.
• 🚀TrendLyra has climbed 114 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #435. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedLyra is most popular in Vermont, where it ranks #75, followed by Massachusetts (#190) and Oregon (#207). It's in the top 1,000 in 35 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Greek, Lyra means “lyre”.

About the name Lyra

Lyra is a girl name meaning “lyre”. It has 4 letters and 2 syllables, starting with L and ending in “-yra”. US birth records list Lyra for girls from 1893 to 2025, in 78 of those 133 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #435 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #435, with 711 babies.