2000
#3,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,655
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.95
Uncommon Last name
Lira
A surname of Italian origin referring to someone who played the lira, a type of stringed instrument.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 16,253 Americans carry the last name Lira. That puts it at #2,481 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 21,089 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lira surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
16K
1 in 21,089
Census rank
#2,481
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
14K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 14,173 bearers of the surname Lira in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2481st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lira, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lira
Among Census respondents with the surname Lira, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Lira bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lira surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.5% · 12,683
- White8.6% · 1,219
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 108
- Two or more races0.5% · 70
- Black or African American0.4% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lira
Lira appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,758
+4,103 bearers (+38.5%)
Per 100,000 5.00
Rank movement Up 669 places
2020
#2,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,173
-585 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 4.74
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,116 | 10,655 | 3.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,447 | 14,758 | 5.00 | +4,103 bearers (+38.5%) | Up 669 places |
| 2020 | #2,481 | 14,173 | 4.74 | -585 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 34 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lira surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,447 | #2,481 | -1.4% |
| Count | 14,758 | 14,173 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 5.00 | 4.74 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lira bearers went from 14,758 to 14,173 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,447 to #2,481.
FAQ
Lira surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lira?
Name Census estimates that about 16,253 living Americans carry the surname Lira. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 21,089 residents.
How common is Lira?
Lira ranks #2,481 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 14,173 people with the surname Lira. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (16,253), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Lira.
Has Lira become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lira went from 14,758 recorded bearers to 14,173. That is a decrease of 585 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,447 to #2,481.
What does the Census say about the background of Lira?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lira, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (12,683 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lira appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.5%), White (8.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lira (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lira mean?
A surname of Italian origin referring to someone who played the lira, a type of stringed instrument. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lira (4.74 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Lira?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.