Lir
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- LEER
- Origin
- Irish
- UK rank, 2025
- #5,065 for boys
Lir is a boys' name of Irish origin, meaning “sea”. In 2025 it ranked 5,065th for boys in the UK (3 babies).
What does Lir mean?
Irish: from Old Irish ler 'sea'
“sea”
In Irish myth Lir is a sea god, father of the Children of Lir, who were turned into swans.
Is Lir a girl's or a boy's name?
Lir is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 3 boys in the UK. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Lir in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 5,065th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 3 about 1 in 100,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Too rare to call too few babies to tell
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 3 boys in the UK were named Lir, making it the 5,065th most popular name for boys. Its busiest year was 2010, with 5 boys.
Among boys in 2025, it was 395th in Northern Ireland.
Lir in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | #5,065 |
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 1 | #6,556 |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 0 | – |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 3 | #5,015 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 5 | #3,478 |
Names like Lir
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Amir, Muhammad, Umar, Zayd, Musa, Hamza, Ahmed, Mustafa, Abdullah, Khalid, Ibrahim, Zayaan
Names related to Lir
More Irish names
Oscar, Rowan, Rory, Maeve, Finn, Aiden, Ryan, Nolan, Quinn, Orla, Cody, Erin, Ronan, Connor, Declan, Casey
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland) and Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Lir: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/lir, updated 20 October 2026.