Lyon is the name of the French city on the Rhône and also an English and French surname that goes back to the Old French word for "lion", a nickname for a brave or fierce man. As a first name it offers a sleeker spelling of Lion and sits next to Leon and Lionel. In the United States Lyon stood at number 8765 in 2000, reached its best rank of number 1898 in 2024 and is number 2502 among boys' names in 2025.