Lyra is the Latin name of a small northern constellation and means "lyre", the stringed instrument of Greek myth that Orpheus played. Philip Pullman gave the name to Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of His Dark Materials, which brought it to a wide audience. In the United States Lyra entered the top 1000 in 2015 at number 978, has risen almost without a break and reaches number 435 in 2025, its best rank so far.