The name Lyra has its origins in ancient Greek mythology and language. It is derived from the Greek word 'lura' which means a lyre, a stringed musical instrument resembling a small harp. The lyre was closely associated with the Greek goddess of music, poetry, and eloquence, who was called Terpsichore.

Lyra is also the name of a small constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere, representing the lyre of Orpheus, the legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myths. The constellation is one of the oldest recognized in human history, with its earliest known depiction dating back to ancient Greek sources from the 7th century BC.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Lyra is from Greek mythology itself, where Lyra was the name of the daughter of the god Apollo and the nymph Terpsichore. In some versions of the myth, Lyra was transformed into the constellation after her death.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the first name Lyra. One of the earliest was Lyra Vibia Perpetua, a young Christian noblewoman who lived in the early 3rd century AD in the Roman province of Africa. She was executed for her faith in 203 AD and is now venerated as a martyr and saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

Another notable Lyra was Lyra Bútterfield, an English mathematician and philosopher who lived from 1790 to 1860. She is best known for her work on the foundations of mathematics and her contributions to the development of symbolic logic.

In the field of astronomy, Lyra Nikolaievna Tseraskaya was a Soviet astronomer who lived from 1892 to 1976. She made significant contributions to the study of variable stars and the structure of the Milky Way galaxy.

Lyra Belacqua is a fictional character and the protagonist of the His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman, published between 1995 and 2000. She is a young girl who embarks on a journey to uncover secrets about a mysterious substance called "Dust" and the nature of consciousness.

More recently, Lyra McKee was a Northern Irish journalist and author who lived from 1990 to 2019. She was tragically killed while observing a riot in Derry, Northern Ireland, and her death sparked widespread condemnation of the ongoing violence in the region.