Entry № 6126 · Greek origin

Lyra Lyra — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ LEER-ah /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Greek
Meaning
"Lyre, the constellation"
Syllables
2
First recorded
Ancient (Greek)

A name that means "lyre, the constellation".

Lyra is the Latin and Greek name of the lyre — the stringed instrument played by Orpheus, whose music could move stones. It is also the name of one of the most recognised northern constellations, containing the bright star Vega.

Lyra entered the U.S. Today it sits in the U.S. top 175 and is rising fast.

The lyre. The constellation. Pullman's heroine.

The name in its native script.

Λύρα
Transliteration
Lúra
Pronunciation
/ ˈlɪr.ə /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Lyra stands.

Lyra does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Lyras before her.

Real people
Lyra McKee
Northern Irish journalist.
1990 – 2019
In fiction
Lyra Belacqua
Heroine of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.
1995 onward

Names connected to Lyra.

The number behind Lyra.

2

The Peacemaker

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Lyra reduce to 2, The Peacemaker. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.