Lear

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Lear

Pronounced LEER /ˈlɪr/Medium

Meaning: Lear is best known as a surname and as the name of Shakespeare's King Lear, a character drawn from British legend where the figure Llyr was a Welsh sea deity. As a rare girl's given name it was almost certainly taken from that surname or literary source rather than coined fresh, and no single settled meaning attaches to it.Low

In 30 seconds: Lear is a rare, one-syllable name taken from the old surname and from Shakespeare's King Lear, whose roots reach back to a Welsh sea-figure named Llyr (said LEER).

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Origin LowEnglish, Welsh

MeaningLear is best known as a surname and as the name of Shakespeare's King Lear, a character drawn from British legend where the figure Llyr was a Welsh sea deity. As a rare girl's given name it was almost certainly taken from that surname or literary source rather than coined fresh, and no single settled meaning attaches to it.

U.S. rank (1966)#7135 ↘ Falling

1966 U.S. births5 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)

Peak year1920

Total births (all-time)≈ 491

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Lear appears as a girl's name in United States records from the late 1880s onward, most likely lifted from the surname or from the fame of Shakespeare's King Lear. The literary name traces back through British legend to Llyr, a Welsh figure tied to the sea. It was never common, given to only a couple dozen girls a year even at its early-1920s high.

A girl named Lear from that era would be a great-grandmother today, and the name reads as a distinctly old, surname-style choice. It has not revived and sits well outside the current vintage-name comeback, though its short, clean sound is not unlike modern one-syllable picks.

Did you know? Lear carries a literary shadow: Shakespeare's King Lear borrowed the name from British legend, where Llyr was a Welsh figure of the sea, long before a handful of American parents used it for daughters.

Overall data confidence 32%

References - Lear — Surname/literary name; legendary Welsh Llyr; meaning uncertain

Variations

LeahLearaLera

Nicknames

LeeLeelee

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Lear mean?

Lear has no single settled meaning; it comes from the surname and from Shakespeare's King Lear, whose name traces to the Welsh sea-figure Llyr.

How do you pronounce Lear?

It's said LEER /ˈlɪr/, one syllable.

Is Lear a boy or girl name?

Here Lear is used as a girl's name, though it is far better known as a surname.

How popular is Lear?

It has always been very rare for girls, an early-twentieth-century surname-style name given to only a couple dozen a year at most.