Fun Facts About the Name Lysander
- 798 babies named Lysander: U.S. records list 798 babies given the name Lysander from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Lysander Mean?
Lysander is an English form of the Greek name Lysandros (Λύσανδρος). It is a compound of two Greek elements: lysis (λύσις), meaning "a loosing, releasing, or setting free," and anēr (ἀνήρ), "man," whose genitive form andros (ἀνδρός) supplies the second half of the name. The first element comes from the verb lyein (λύειν), "to loose, undo, set free."
Read literally, the name means something like "releasing men" or "man-releaser." The customary English rendering of that idea is liberator, and that is the meaning usually given for the name today. The same "man" element appears in other Greek compounds such as Alexandros, though the first elements of those names are different words.
Lysander Name History & Origins
Lysandros is attested as a personal name in the Greek world of the classical period. Its best-known ancient bearer was the Spartan commander Lysander (died 395 BC), who led the Spartan fleet to victory over Athens at Aegospotami in 405 BC, then blockaded Athens until it surrendered in 404 BC, bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He later supported the oligarchic regime at Athens known as the Thirty Tyrants. His career is described by Xenophon, a near contemporary, and much later by Plutarch in his Life of Lysander. The name was used by other Greeks as well, and it remained in use in Greek-speaking regions after the classical age.
In the English-speaking world the name is encountered mainly through literature. William Shakespeare gave it to one of the young Athenian lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream, written in the 1590s, where Lysander loves Hermia and flees with her into the woods. This is a literary use of a name that already existed in Greek, not the name's origin, and the play helped make the name familiar to English readers.
Related forms in other languages include Lysandros in Greek, Lisandro in Spanish and Portuguese, and Lysandre in French; the feminine form Lysandra also occurs. In English, Lysander has been used as a given name but has never been common.
How Popular is the Name Lysander?
Lysander has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #1,719 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,719 | 95 | 0.0056% |
| 2024 | #2,198 | 66 | 0.0038% |
| 2023 | #3,760 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 2022 | #4,524 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2021 | #5,041 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2020 | #4,362 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2019 | #3,961 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 2018 | #4,308 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2017 | #4,190 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 2016 | #3,943 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2015 | #3,338 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 2014 | #2,785 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 2013 | #3,379 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 2012 | #3,766 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2011 | #3,485 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 2010 | #3,596 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2009 | #4,528 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 2008 | #3,699 | 29 | 0.0014% |
| 2007 | #4,074 | 25 | 0.0012% |
| 2006 | #5,222 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #7,459 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2004 | #9,566 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2003 | #5,760 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #6,361 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #10,055 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #6,172 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1997 | #10,201 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1986 | #6,419 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #7,171 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #4,041 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1978 | #6,402 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1976 | #4,730 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #2,759 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1971 | #4,723 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #4,094 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #4,402 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #4,412 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1961 | #4,436 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1955 | #3,738 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1931 | #4,119 | 5 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Lysander Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You always bring to completion anything you start. You are generous but like to see returns from your giving. You have an executive ability, you are a leader. You are moral, balanced, honest and intellectual, and you may attain spirituality. You are wise and practical with an appreciation of beauty. You always think before you act. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Lysander's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Lysander's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.