# Lyon (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/lyon/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the nickname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 27,690 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,271 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 11,150 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.3% (27,337 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Middle English lyon (“lion”), as a nickname, or from a sign often used outside of roadside inns and adopted as a family name by those who lived there (compare Bush). Doublet of Leo, leu, lev, and lion.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Lyon in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 92% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.0% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Lyon in the United States, Canada and Australia.

## People named Lyon

- Sue Lyon, American actress (1946–2019)
- Ben Lyon, American actor (1901-1979)
- George Lyon, Amateur golfer (1858-1938)
- Mary Lyon, American educator (1797–1849)
- Nathan Lyon, Australian cricketer
- Dick Lyon, American rower (1939-2019)
- Arthur Lyon, American fencer (1876–1952)
- Gordon Lyon, American network security expert, open source programmer, writer, and a hacker
- Lucius Lyon, American politician (1800–1851)
- Caleb Lyon, American politician (1822-1875)
- William Lyon, American film editor (1903-1974)
- Hilda Lyon, British aeronautical engineer and airship designer

and 4 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Leon, Lynn, Lown, Lona, Lone, Lyne, Lyn, Lane, Luna, Lin, Lam, Lim.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.