Find out how popular the last name Lira is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Lira.

Lira, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Lira surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lira in America

Lira is the 2447th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lira surname appeared 14,758 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Lira.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lira to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Lira

The surname Lira is of Italian origin, traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Latin word "lira," which referred to an ancient Roman unit of currency. This suggests that the name may have originated from an occupation or association with financial matters or taxation.

In the 13th century, records show the name Lira appearing in various Italian regions, including Tuscany, Lombardy, and Veneto. It was often spelled as "Lira" or "Lyra" during this time. One of the earliest documented instances is found in a 1281 Florentine document, which mentions a "Bindo di Lira."

The name Lira has been linked to several notable figures throughout history. In the 15th century, a Sienese artist named Bartolomeo di Giovanni Lira (1450-1523) gained recognition for his frescoes and altarpieces. Another individual of note was Geronimo Lira (1570-1639), a Spanish Benedictine monk and scholar who authored several religious works.

During the Renaissance, the name Lira appears in records from various Italian cities. For example, a Venetian merchant named Andrea Lira (1505-1578) is mentioned in documents related to trade with the Ottoman Empire. In the 17th century, a composer and organist named Francesco Lira (1600-1673) was born in Palermo, Sicily, and contributed to the development of early Baroque music.

In the 18th century, the name Lira was associated with several prominent Italian families. One example is the Lira family from Naples, which produced several lawyers and politicians, including Giuseppe Lira (1718-1792), a renowned jurist and legal scholar.

As the surname spread across Italy, it also found its way to other parts of Europe and the Americas through migration. In the 19th century, an Italian-American artist named Desiderio Lira (1820-1895) gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West.

Throughout its history, the surname Lira has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, reflecting its origins as a name potentially derived from an occupation or association with financial matters in medieval Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lira

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Lira.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Lira was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Lira has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Lira was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Lira, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!