A Scottish, Irish and English surname, the Lyons family names comes from the Old French term of ‘lion’ which meant brave. It is also the shorter version of Lyon. An Irish version is spelled O’Laighin, which means grey.

Spelling variations for Lyons are Lyon and Lions.

In Scotland the Lyons surname is across the central and southern region, especially in Lanarkshire county. In England the Lyons families first started in Norfolk region and now are in London and in Lancashire and Yorkshire counties.

In Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, New Jersey, Missouri, Louisiana and Texas within the United States are where the majority of families with the Lyons surname live.


Famous: Eddie Lyons (film actor), Richard Lyons (English race car driver), Barry Lyons (professional baseball player), Cliff Lyons (rugby player of Australia), Dicky Lyons (professional football player), James L. Lyons (founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival), Laura Lyons (model) and Stuart Lyons (English film producer).