Geir is a masculine name commonly given in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. It is derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''geirr'' "spear", a common name element in

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are al ...

s in general, from

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...

'' *gaizaz'' (whence also

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''gêr'',

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''gâr'',

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

''gaisu''). The popularity of the given name peaked in Norway during the 1950s to 1980s, with above 2% of newly born boys named ''Geir'' during the late 1960s to 1970s. As of 2014, the National statistics office of Norway recorded 22,380 men with the given name, or 0.9% of total male population. Statistisk Sentralbyrå, National statistics office of Norway
ssb.no
The Old Norse spelling ''Geirr'' is also rarely given (89 individuals in Norway as of 2014). ''Geir'' is also rarely given in Sweden and Denmark. While ''Geir'' was practically unused as a given name prior to the 1930s (and since the 2000s), ''-geir'' is the second element in a number of given names inherited from Old Norse, the most popularly given being '' Asgeir'' and ''

Torgeir Torgeir is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Arvid Torgeir Lie (born 1938), Norwegian poet, writer of short stories and translator *Torgeir Andersen (born 1916), Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party *Torgeir Anderssen ...

''. These are a remnant of a much larger group of names including the ''geirr'' element in Old Norse.nordicnames.de
citing Kristoffer Kruken, Ola Stemshaug, ''Norsk Personnamnleksikon'' (1995), Per Vikstrand, ''Förkristna sakrala personnamn i Skandinavien'', Studia anthroponymica Scandinavica 27 (2009), 5–31, Lena Peterson, ''Nordiskt runnamnslexikon'' (2002).

Notable people

Notable people called Geir include: *

Geir Bjørklund Geir Bjørklund (born 20 April 1969 in Mo i Rana, Norway) is a researcher, health science writer, and scientific advisor. He has contributed to studying interactions of nutritional and environmental factors related to human physiology, biochemistry ...

(b. 1969), Norwegian researcher, medical/health science writer, and editor * Geir Digerud (b. 1956), Norwegian cyclist * Geir Gripsrud (b. 1948), Norwegian organizational theorist * Geir Haarde (b. 1951), Prime Minister of Iceland 2006–2009 * Geir Hallgrímsson (1925–1990),

Prime Minister of Iceland The prime minister of Iceland ( is, Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the president and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary suppor ...

1974–1978) * Geir Hasund (b. 1971), Norwegian

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player *

Geir Helgemo Geir Helgemo (born 14 February 1970) is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco. Through 2012 he had won three world championships in competition. As of August 2018 he ranked first among Open World Gra ...

(b. 1970), Norwegian

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player * Geir Ivarsøy (1957–2006), Norwegian programmer at

Opera Software Opera is a Norwegian multinational technology company and subsidiary of Kunlun that specializes in web browser development, fintech, as well as services such as Opera News and YoYo Games. The company's total user base, including users of its d ...

Geir Jenssen Geir Jenssen (born 30 May 1962)Thompson, Dave (2000) ''Alternative Rock'', Miller Freeman, , p.197-198 is a Norwegian electronic musician and composer who records as Biosphere. A resident of Tromsø within the Arctic Circle, Jenssen is well know ...

(b. 1962), Norwegian musician best known under the recording name ''Biosphere'' *

Geir Hansteen Jörgensen Geir Hansteen Jörgensen (born 18 February 1968) is a Swedish television, film and commercials director. His most famous works are probably the film and TV mini-series ''The New Country'' and ''The Soloists''. Both have received many awards internat ...

(b. 1968),

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

film director *

Geir Karlstad Geir Karlstad (born 7 July 1963) is a Norwegian former speed skater and national team speed skating coach. Biography Although best at the longest distances (the 5,000 m and the 10,000 m), Geir Karlstad became Junior World Allround Champ ...

(b. 1963), Norwegian speed skater, Olympic gold and bronze medalist * Geir Lippestad (b. 1964), Norwegian lawyer and politician *

Geir Moen Geir Moen (born 26 June 1969 in Oslo) is a former sprinter from Moss, Norway who specialized in the 200 metres. He represented Moss IL. His international senior debut came at the 1989 European Indoor Championships. At the 1994 European Champ ...

(b. 1969), Norwegian sprinter *

Geir Suursild Geir Suursild (born 13 October 1994) is an Estonian rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oar ...

(born 1994), Estonian rower *

Geirr Tveitt Geirr Tveitt (born Nils Tveit; 19 October 1908 – 1 February 1981) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s. Life Early years Tveitt was born in Be ...

(1908–1981), Norwegian composer *

Geir Zahl Geir Zahl (born 19 May 1975) is a Norwegian musician. He is known for playing guitar in the Norwegian rock group Kaizers Orchestra. The band was founded by Geir Zahl and Janove Ottesen who had both played together in some other bands, namely Bl ...

(b. 1975), Norwegian musician

References

{{given name Norwegian masculine given names Scandinavian masculine given names