Lyra

Now, there is a beauty. Captivating, dazzling, bewitching, alluring, spellbinding, enthralling... what more can I say? The gentle strumming of a lyre sparkling like the stars... indeed, it's famous as the title of a literary character, but not so much that it would be considered "cheesy." Breathtaking!

A magical name, and I love the namesake of Lyra Belacqua/Silvertongue! She is such a great character (in the books, hate the series) and the end scene with Will makes my cry every time. The meaning harp is lovely, and it’s a constellation! It doesn’t make me think of liar at all. Beautiful.

Lee-ruh. Lie-ruh is ugly.

Compared to many people on here I actually prefer the pronunciation LIE-ra. Yes, it does sound like liar, but it’s a lot more pretty and delicate then LEE-ra. For some reason whenever I say it like that Lyra sounds weirdly forced. I just get turned off. But that’s my personal opinion.

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Anyhow, I find Lyra to be a beautiful, and melodic name. I see it gaining popularity, as it should, because it’s a nice name. I love the etymology of this name and how mystical and interesting it is. I actually have a friend named Lyra whose middle name is Artemis. How cool is that?

This name is so pretty.

My whole life I thought Lyra was pronounced LEER-a. Honestly I like that better than LIE-ra.

This is one of my favorite names! Lyra is so pretty, and I love the character from the book Northern Lights and the astronomical meaning and connection. I imagine a girl with long strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. I pronounce this name as Lie-ra.

This name is so pretty! I love it!

Stunning.

Very beautiful!

This is one of my favorite names. I love the character in "Northern Lights".

I love this name and I plan on calling my child Lyra when she is born. I think it is enchanting.

Beautiful! I love it so much! Sounds very "astronomical" as you would call it.

Lyra to me is a pretty name. I recently went into astronomy. I just can imagine a cool soft breeze and looking up at the stars. It reminds me of a softness and I think of someone who's curious with this name. My favorite middle name for Lyra is Alexandria, like the library.

Melodical and enchanting. LIE-ruh.

I prefer it pronounced Lee-ra and I really dislike the popularity of it where I live, sounds less novelty now. Nevertheless, Lyra is an enchanting and harmonious name, makes me think of great, peaceful marble buildings with a lone priestess playing a lyre. Classics vibes basically, ;). I'd personally opt for Maia though.

I like both pronunciations of the name, but especially Lee-ra because it sounds like the lyrics of music.

I think it's pretty, but it's not on my list of 'ohmigodilovethissomuchimnamingallmyfuturekidsthis'. Too short, and reminds me of Lyra Silvertongue/Belaqua.

Very pretty and sweet, and the astronomical and musical connections are nice. I pronounce it LIE-rah, although LEER-ah isn't bad.

This name just annoys me. Just no!

I love the name Lyra. (As pronounced lie-rah) The first time I heard of the name was from the Webtoon called Siren’s Lament. I love the origin of the name Lyra because of astronomy and music.

Lyra is gorgeous pronounced Lie-rah, and Lira is beautiful pronounced Leer-ah.

I love this name. I think it’s beautiful and I like it pronounced Lie-rah.

I dislike the Lie-rah pronunciation; it sounds too overdone. Lee-rah sounds better for my tastes.

I personally like the pronunciation lie-rah, but leer-ah is good too. This name is amazing! I love it because it's mainly related to astronomy and music, my 2 favourite things! Love, love, love this name.

We called our daughter Lyra (lie-rah) when she was born in 2014. We love it and chose it as we liked astrological names. Had no idea about the books until after she was born. We teamed it with a very 'normal' middle name and I think they sound lovely together Lyra Jane :). Never even heard it pronounced any other way other than lie-rah and to be honest I don't like it the other ways, sounds like a what you would call a creepy guy/girl peering out of the shadows.

I love this name so much! But only pronounced LIE-ra, I don't like LEER-a or LEE-ra. The meaning is so beautiful; I love names that have to do with stars and constellations. (It is also the perfect meaning for Lyra Belacqua in Philip Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy.) I will definitely call my daughter this if I ever have children.

Lyra would be misunderstood here in Italy.
In fact, it is pronounced LEE-ra. Lira was also the currency before Euro. It was used since 1861 until 2002. Both the money and the constellation have their origin from the Ancient Greek instrument yes, but it is a literary reference while the currency is a daily link still nowadays (people often say: 'Oh! It is too expensive! When we were using lira it would cost...'. Totally unusable here.

Lyra is sweet, lyrical, and poetic. It makes a nice middle name.

I think both pronunciations sound okay.

This name is so overrated. It doesn't sound pretty at all.

I LOVE this name (when it's pronounced Lira)! Before my daughter was born it was my number one pick. Apparently it doesn't sound good in French (our names needed to sound good in French and English), so we went with an alternative. It ticks all my boxes though, and I still love it. Uncommon, soft, and musical but not "out there" strange.

I named my daughter (born March 2016) Lyra, said Lie-ra like Lyra Belacqua. I loved the name the first time I heard it in The Golden Compass and said if I had another daughter that would be her name.
It's a gorgeous name!

Beautiful and lovely. Lyra is a great choice for a name, and I'd recommend it to anyone having a child. Pronounced "LIE-rah" or "LEER-uh," either way I think it sounds great. I'm also a fan of Philip Pullman's work, so that's a plus, ha ha.

This name is so pretty! More people need to have this name. It's classy and very feminine sounding. It actually reminds me of a lyre, which is a harp-type instrument.

I love this name, it reminds me of someone beautiful and young. I am bound to name my daughter this. Someone brave, someone who's curious of the world and would rather be exploring in the woods rather than sitting at home. The girl with wavy ginger/red hair and grey-blue eyes and the tiniest bit of freckles on her face. The mysterious kind, the type of person who is so deep and wonders about everything and anything. Fearless.

This name is GORGEOUS! So classy, feminine and beautiful. I can't find anything bad to say about this name. I love it especially when it's pronounced like LEE-RA.

The name Lyra was given to 242 baby girls born in the US in 2012.

A little too fantasy-ish/made up sounding to me... But I like it for an animal. I knew a really cute dog named Lyra :)

As someone who is big on Astronomy, I plan on naming my little daughter Lyra. While the pronunciation in Astronomy in the English-speaking world is LIE-ra, that pronunciation seems harsh to me. Thus, I prefer Lyra pronounced as LEER-a.

I don't care which way you pronounce it, Lyra is a terrible name. If you pronounce it LIE-re or LIE-ra, it sounds like you're calling someone a lier. If you pronounce it LEER-a it sounds like an evil stare. This name should go to the recycling bin.

I LOVE THIS NAME! I think it sounds elegant, beautiful and pure. If I ever have a daughter then I will definitely consider this name.

So it does mean lyre. I was wondering if that was the case. It's a pretty name to describe a wonderful ancient instrument with an enchanting sound. It would be a good name to use on a character; maybe a musician. A family of musicians. A brother named Jubal, and two sisters named Lyra and Selah. Yeah...

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And yes, I know Pullman has already used it for his character, but in his mind, the name Lyra means "liar." I would never corrupt such a pretty name with a negative meaning like that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a plot bunny to catch.

Magnificent. I really am considering this for a daughter, although it could turn out she could be a liar, and Lyra and Liar are super similar.

This name is gorgeous. Definitely going on my PNL. It's got a great history and a lovely sound that isn't tacky.

Lyra is such a beautiful name! I love Philip Pullman's character, but I would wait until her craze died down (if it ever does) before naming a girl this.

I love the name Lyra. Yet another constellation name that I'm ashamed of how much I love it. It's very soft-sounding and uncommon enough that one with this name probably will not be in school with another one, yet it doesn't sound made up or trashy.

Even though it's the name of a constellation, I think this name sounds beautiful.

This is a beautiful name with an esthetic and poetic feel to it, yet it doesn't sound utterly kooky. I like the background of it and everything. I only hope it doesn't become overused.

Good as a middle name too.

My name is Lyra, and it is commonly mispronounced by everyone around me. The way my name is pronounced is Lee-Ra. Most people pronounce it as Lie-Ra. (In the Golden Compass movie, it's pronounced the "wrong (TO ME) way," for example. Also beware that people always say, "OH! Like the Italian money?" when I tell them my name. Other than those things, I ADORE my name! People always comment on how beautiful it is, and I agree.

I like this name. I first heard it from the Phillip Pullman Novels, and think that the character of Lyra is inspiring.

This is such a rare and beautiful name.

I find this name so pretty and unique.

I am also a fan of the character Lyra Belacqua, and it is a pretty name. However, I think the name was chosen for her because it sounds like the word "liar," so it seems strange to me that she might inspire namesakes!

It's so rare but I really like this name. Not to mention it's my favorite constellation. :]

I love the His Dark Materials trilogy and, inspired by that, have decided that if I ever have a daughter, she will be called Lyra Aurora. They are both beautiful names!

I love the name Lyra and will give it to my daughter. To me it sounds both traditional and contemporary. The bible says that God's children will shine as the stars and that our names are written in the stars and her name will be so literally.

A Biblical interpretation should not be added to a name like Lyra. It has nothing to do with Christianity, and I find it annoying when other usurp fine names for their beliefs. Lyra has root in Greek mythology - let's keep it that way.

This is in response to an earlier comment criticizing the interpretation of this very beautiful name in a Biblical context.

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In some astronomy circles, the constellation was actually sometimes referred to as King David's Harp (or, alternatively, as King Arthur's Harp). I have also read that the author of "His Dark Materials" first saw the name in the context of "Lyra Davidica" - an Easter Hymn, and so decided to use it as his character's name.

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A lyre or harp is also the national symbol of Ireland, with deep roots in Celtic mythology.

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So this beautiful name could certainly be interpreted in many meaningful ways, including Biblical (as opposed to solely in a Greek Mythological context).

I think this name is pretty. Not enough people are named Lyra.