Keir

See also: keir

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic ciar (“dark”) or Old Norse [Term?]. Hanks (2006) derived the name from Pictish/Proto-Brythonic *kaɨr (“a fort”), possibly via Scots keir. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA^(key): /kɪə/
• (US) enPR: kîr, IPA^(key): /kɪɹ/, /kɪəɹ/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /kiɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /kiə/
• (East Anglia, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /kɛː/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)
• Homophone: care (cheer–chair merger)

Proper noun

Keir (plural Keirs)

1. A surname.
2. A male given name.
   • 2025 January 23, Reuters, “UK teenager jailed for minimum of 52 years for Southport girls’ murders”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     A British teenager who killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an attack Prime Minister Keir Starmer called one of the most harrowing moments in Britain’s history.

Derived terms

• two-tier Keir

Translations

surname

• Arabic: كير (ar) (Kīr)
• Greek: Κιρ (el) (Kir)
• Japanese: キア (Kia)
• Scottish Gaelic: Keir
• Ukrainian: Кір (Kir)

given name

• Scottish Gaelic: Keir

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Keir is the 30946^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 751 individuals. Keir is most common among White (93.34%) individuals.

Further reading

• Keir (name) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• rike, Keri, Riek, keri, Rike, Erik, k'rei, Kier, kier