Þorgeir

Þorgeir is a male given name of Old Norse/Icelandic origin. The name combines elements meaning “Thor” (Þórr) and “spear” (geirr), and it appears in medieval sources as Þorgeirr or Þorgeir. In modern Icelandic, the name is written with the letters Þ and a k-sound, and it survives as a traditional given name, often rendered in English as Thorgeir.

The most well-known bearer of the name is Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði (c. 960–1000s), a chieftain (goði) and the law speaker (lögsögumaðr) at the Alþingi, Iceland’s national assembly. According to sagas and skaldic tradition, he presided over the Althing when Icelandic law and custom were discussed and administered. He is especially associated with the Christianization of Iceland around the year 1000, where he reportedly ruled that Iceland would adopt Christianity as the official faith while permitting pagans to conclude old practices in a controlled way.

In contemporary Iceland, Þorgeir remains part of the traditional pool of given names. It is mainly encountered in Iceland and among people of Icelandic descent. The name is typically used without epithet or title in modern contexts, and transliterations such as Thorgeir are common in English-language texts.

See also references to Norse given names and the practice of law-speaking in medieval Iceland, as well as discussions of Christianization in Icelandic history.