Lyman
English surname meaning man of the meadow, from Old English leah, a clearing or pasture, plus mann; it passed into use as a given name in America.
Lyman in 2025
Lyman was given to 6 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 23,685th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 552,557 babies born.
The history of Lyman
Lyman reached its highest point in 1917, when 220 babies were given the name, ranking 808th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 540th, in 1882.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 8,559 babies have been named Lyman. Half of them were born before 1931, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Silent Generation.
Lyman by decade
| Decade | Babies named Lyman | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 297 | 540 |
| 1890s | 284 | 769 |
| 1900s | 309 | 892 |
| 1910s | 1,336 | 767 |
| 1920s | 1,823 | 890 |
| 1930s | 1,233 | 1,015 |
| 1940s | 1,099 | 1,141 |
| 1950s | 800 | 1,608 |
| 1960s | 487 | 2,257 |
| 1970s | 308 | 2,879 |
| 1980s | 227 | 4,893 |
| 1990s | 146 | 6,613 |
| 2000s | 63 | 14,799 |
| 2010s | 108 | 12,264 |
| 2020s | 39 | 15,690 |
Where Lyman is heading
Lyman has fallen 50% over the past decade, from 12 babies in 2015 to 6 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1917 peak — Lyman is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Lyman
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Lyman.