Lysander
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "freer of men".
Name Census estimates that about 685 living Americans carry the first name Lysander. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lysander today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lysander births was 2024 (66 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lysander. 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.
People living today
685
~ 1 in 500,371 Americans
Peak year
2024
66 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,198
Tracked since 1931
Popularity
Lysander: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lysander from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 301 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Lysander remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lysander 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 Lysander during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lysanders live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Lysander, while Illinois, New York, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lysander
The name Lysander has its roots in ancient Greek language and culture, originating around the 5th century BCE. It is derived from the Greek words "lysis" meaning "release" or "deliverance," and "aner" meaning "man." The name can be interpreted to mean "he who releases men" or "liberator."
One of the earliest and most famous historical references to the name Lysander is the Spartan military leader and statesman, Lysander, who lived from around 435 BCE to 395 BCE. He played a crucial role in the Peloponnesian War, leading Sparta to victory over Athens in 404 BCE. His military achievements and political influence made him a prominent figure in ancient Greek history.
Another notable bearer of the name was Lysander, a Greek grammarian from the 2nd century BCE, known for his work on the Iliad and Odyssey. He was a scholar at the Library of Alexandria and contributed to the preservation and study of Homeric texts.
In the 16th century, the name Lysander was revived during the Renaissance period, possibly inspired by the ancient Greek figures. One of the earliest recorded instances was Lysander Studley, an English translator and writer, who lived from around 1550 to 1628.
In the 19th century, the name gained popularity as a literary name, appearing in works such as "The Winter's Tale" by William Shakespeare and "The Caxtons" by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. This likely contributed to its resurgence in usage during that period.
Some other notable individuals with the name Lysander throughout history include Lysander Spooner (1808-1887), an American political philosopher and abolitionist; Lysander Hill (1834-1889), an American politician and lawyer; and Lysander Salmon Richards (1817-1892), a Mormon leader and member of the Council of Fifty in the early Latter Day Saint movement.
People
Lysander + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lysander 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
Lysander: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lysander?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 685 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lysander 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 500,371 US residents.
Is Lysander a common name?
We classify Lysander as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 703 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lysander most popular?
The single biggest year for Lysander was 2024, when 66 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lysander is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lysander a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lysander in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.