Keir
Masculine · “Gaelic caer”
Keir is given to both — 1,053 boys and 64 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Keir Hardie was a miner from the age of ten, a union organiser, and the first leader of the British Labour Party. Keir Starmer, who became prime minister in 2024, was named after him by parents who wanted the connection made.
How old is the name Keir?
Keir first appears in US birth records in 1963 — 62 years ago. The typical Keir alive today was born around 1988, making them about 37 years old. About 1,000 people named Keir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Keir most popular?
Keir peaked in 1970, reaching #1023 nationally. Today it ranks #9714, 8,691 places below that high. See the whole 1970 chart.
Where it comes from
From caer to Keir
The story of Keir
James Keir Hardie was born in Lanarkshire in 1856, went down the pit at ten, taught himself to read, and became a union organiser and then a politician. He was elected to Parliament for West Ham South in 1892, refused to wear the customary frock coat and top hat, and helped found the Independent Labour Party in 1893 and the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, which became the Labour Party. He opposed the Boer War and the First World War, supported women's suffrage and Indian self-rule, and was widely detested in the press for all of it. Keir Starmer's parents, both Labour supporters, gave him the name deliberately, which makes the current British prime minister's first name a piece of political commemoration a century after the fact.
Meaningscholars disagree
Gaelic caer, a fort
Keir is a Scottish surname from a place name, generally derived from a Brittonic or Gaelic word for a fort or an enclosed settlement, the same element as in the many Welsh names beginning Caer. It may also be a variant of Kerr. The American peak of the given name is 1970.
How the name formed
- caer
- Keir
Related forms: Keir · Caer
Pronouncing Keir
KEER
One syllable, rhyming with here. It is not said kay-er. The ei spelling is one of at least three values English gives that digraph.
Nicknames for Keir
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1963
- Most boys named
- 197146 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1023reached in 1970
- Change vs 2024
- −46.2%7 in 2025, from 13
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Keir in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Keir in Scottish — same name
- Caer in Welsh — related form
Keirs among us
people named Keir are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 244,011 born in 2025 was named Keir
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Vilas test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Keir's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Vilas climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Vilas's path sketches the road Keir is walking now.
Keir sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Keir beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Keir in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable and four letters, compact and distinctive.
- It carries a specific and well-documented history.
- It is a genuine Scottish surname.
- The ei spelling gives no reliable guidance on the vowel.
- It is strongly associated with British Labour politics.
- It is unfamiliar to most Americans.
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What they receive
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Keir
Masculine · #9714 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Keirs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Keir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Keir in 2025?
- Keir ranks #9714 among US boy names in 2025, with 7 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Keir?
- About 1 in every 244,011 US boys born in 2025 was named Keir — 7 in all.
- Will my child share the name Keir with classmates?
- Keir will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Keir
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Vern#9714 · Abrahm#9714 · Sid#9714 · Hartwell#9714 · Kwan#9714 · Adrean#9714 · Chancey#9714 · Bob#9714
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Keir? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Keir and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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