{{Infobox name | name = Geir | image = | imagesize = | caption = | pronunciation = | gender = | meaning = spear | region = Norway | origin = Old Norse | related names = | footnotes = }}
'''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 ''gâr'', Gothic ''gaisu'').<ref>Latin ''gaesum'', ''gaesus'', Greek {{lang|grc|γαῖσον}} was the term for the lance of the Gauls. The Avestan language has ''gaêçu'' "lance bearer" as a likely cognate. The Celtic word is found e.g. in the name of the Gaesatae. Old Irish has ''gae'' "spear". Proto-Germanic ''*gaizaz'' would derive from proto-Indo-European language ''*ghaisos'', although loan from Celtic has also been considered, in which case the PIE form would be ''*gaisos''. The ''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'' has ''*g'haisos'' (with a palatal velar aspirate), discounting the Avestan form in favour of (tentatively) comparing Sanskrit ''{{IAST|hḗṣas-}}'' "projectile". The form ''gaois'' is read in an early Runic inscriptions on the so-called Mos spearhead, dated to the 3rd century, found in Stenkyrka, Gotland. Sven Birger Fredrik Jansson, ''The runes of Sweden'', Bedminster Press, 1962, pp. iii-iv.</ref>
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.<ref name="SSB">Statistisk Sentralbyrå, National statistics office of Norway, [http://www.ssb.no/navn?fokus=true ssb.no].</ref> The Old Norse spelling ''Geirr'' is also rarely given (89 individuals in Norway as of 2014).<ref name="SSB" /> ''Geir'' is also rarely given in Sweden and Denmark.<ref>Sweden: ''Det finns 313 män som har förnamnet Geir. Av dessa har 196 namnet Geir som tilltalsnamn.'' [http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Statistik-efter-amne/Befolkning/Amnesovergripande-statistik/Namnstatistik/30903/Namnsok/ scb.se] (as of 2014). Denmark: ''Mænd med navnet 'Geir' 2014: 79, 2015: 82.'' [http://www.dst.dk/da/Statistik/emner/navne/HvorMange.aspx dst.dk].</ref>
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''. These are a remnant of a much larger group of names including the ''geirr'' element in Old Norse.<ref>[http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/GEIR 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).</ref>
Notable people called Geir include:
* Geir Bjørklund (born 1969), Norwegian researcher, medical/health science writer, and editor * Geir Digerud (born 1956), Norwegian cyclist * Geir Gripsrud (born 1948), Norwegian organizational theorist * Geir Haarde (born 1951), Prime Minister of Iceland (2006–2009) * Geir Hafredahl (born 1962), Norwegian politician * Geir Hallgrímsson (1925–1990), Prime Minister of Iceland (1974–1978) * Geir Hansteen Jörgensen (born 1968), Swedish film director * Geir Hasund (born 1971), Norwegian footballer * Geir Helgemo (born 1970), Norwegian contract bridge player * Geir Isene (born 1966), Norwegian writer * Geir Ivarsøy (1957–2006), Norwegian programmer at Opera Software * Geir Jenssen (born 1962), Norwegian musician best known under the recording name ''Biosphere'' * Geir Karlstad (born 1963), Norwegian speed skater, Olympic gold and bronze medalist * Geir Lippestad (born 1964), Norwegian lawyer and politician * Geir Selvik Malthe-Sørenssen (born 1965), Norwegian con artist * Geir Moen (born 1969), Norwegian sprinter * {{anbl|Geir Pollen}} * Geir Suursild (born 1994), Estonian rower * Geir Sveinsson (born 1964), Icelandic handball player * Geirr Tveitt (1908–1981), Norwegian composer * Geir Zahl (born 1975), Norwegian musician
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Norwegian masculine given names Category:Masculine given names Category:Scandinavian masculine given names