Lyons, Lane, ó Laighin A Gaelic surname meaning descendant of Laighean meaning ‘lance, spear’. A sept in the barony of Kilconnell in Galway. A sept formerly seated near Kill in Kildare. ó Liatháin, is often anglicised as Lyons in Cork. Which means descendant of Liathán, which is a diminutive of Liath meaning ‘grey’. de Lyons a surname of Norman origin, possibly of Lyons-la-Foret (Eure) the place-name in France. A family of the name settled in Meath and spread throughout the Pale. In 1890 Lyons was the eightieth most numerous surname, an estimated 9,400 persons bore the name and it was principally found in Mayo, Cork, Galway, Dublin, Kerry and Limerick. In 1890 Lane was principally found in Cork and Limerick and the estimated number of bearers was 3,000. In the United States Lyons is the 326th most numerous surname with an estimated 90,750 bearers. In England and Wales in 1996 it was the 426th most numerous surname.