Geir is a masculine name commonly given in Norway and Iceland. It is derived from Old Norse ''geirr'' "spear", a common name element in Germanic names in general, from Proto-Germanic '' *gaizaz'' (whence also Old High German ''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 Ansgar (Latinized ''Ansgarius''; Old Norse ''Ásgeirr'') is a Germanic given name, composed of the elements ''ans'' "god", and ''gar'' "spear". ''Ansgar'' is the Old High German form of the name. The form ''Asger'' was in use in Denmark in the ...

'' 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 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 (b. 1970), Norwegian bridge player * Geir Ivarsøy (1957–2006), Norwegian programmer at Opera Software *

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 kno ...

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

(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 ...

(b. 1975), Norwegian musician

References

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