Lyrah
A feminine name of Arabic origin meaning "bright star" or "heavenly light".
Name Census estimates that about 184 living Americans carry the first name Lyrah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lyrah today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lyrah births was 2012 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lyrah. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Lyrah with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
184
~ 1 in 1,862,795 Americans
Peak year
2012
16 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,423
Tracked since 2006
Popularity
Lyrah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lyrah from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 107 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lyrah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lyrah by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lyrah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lyrah
The name Lyrah is a relatively modern invention, with no clear historical or cultural origins. It appears to be a combination of the names Lyra and Sarah, although its precise derivation is uncertain.
Some believe Lyrah may have roots in Arabic, where the name Lairah means "bright" or "radiant." However, there is no definitive evidence linking Lyrah to this Arabic name or any specific language or culture.
The earliest recorded use of Lyrah as a given name dates back to the late 20th century. Prior to this, there are no known references to Lyrah in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records.
Due to its recent emergence, there are relatively few notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Lyrah. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name is Lyrah Van Der Heyden, a Dutch artist born in 1972. She is known for her abstract paintings and mixed media works.
Another individual named Lyrah is Lyrah Linh, a Vietnamese-American fashion designer and entrepreneur born in 1985. She founded the clothing line Lyrah Linh Designs, which gained popularity in the early 2000s.
In the realm of literature, Lyrah Erso-Porter is a Canadian author born in 1978. She has written several novels and short stories, including the acclaimed "The Lyrah Chronicles" series.
In the field of sports, Lyrah Williamson is a British tennis player born in 1992. She has competed in various Grand Slam tournaments and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 67 in the world.
Lastly, Lyrah Gonzalez is a Mexican-American actress born in 1988. She has appeared in several television shows and films, most notably playing the role of Sofia in the popular series "Vida" from 2018 to 2020.
While the name Lyrah is relatively modern and lacks a deep historical lineage, it has gained some popularity in recent decades, particularly in Western countries. However, its exact origins and the reasons behind its creation remain somewhat of a mystery.
People
Lyrah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lyrah as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lyrah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lyrah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 184 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lyrah going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,862,795 US residents.
Is Lyrah a common name?
We classify Lyrah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 73.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lyrah most popular?
The single biggest year for Lyrah was 2012, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lyrah is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lyrah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lyrah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lyrah in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lyrah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lyrah in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lyrah can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Lyrah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.