Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, bjarga, meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of Birger would soon evolve into Börje, however, the prior form would remain common, and was not confused with its successor. The Icelandic form is Birgir. Birger is primarily a masculine given name, but can also be found as a surname.
Birger
Given name
Middle Ages
Birger, King of Sweden (1280–1321) Birger Brosa (died 1202), Swedish jarl Birger Gregersson (c. 1327–1383), Archbishop of Uppsala Birger Jarl (1210–1266), Swedish statesman Birger Persson (died 1327), Swedish magnate, knight, privy councillor and Uppland's first lawspeaker
Modern world
Birger Asplund (1929–2023), Swedish hammer thrower
Birger Carlstedt (1907–1975), Finnish artist
Birger Cederin (1895–1942), Swedish fencer
Birger Dahlerus (1891–1957), Swedish businessman and amateur diplomat
Birger Ekeberg (1880–1968), Swedish jurist
Birger Eriksen (1875–1958), Norwegian colonel who repelled the initial German World War II invasion force Birger Hedqvist (1894–1964), Swedish lieutenant general Birger Ljungberg (1884–1967), Norwegian military officer, politician and Minister of Defence from 1939 to 1942 Birger Ljungström (1872–1948), Swedish engineer, technical designer, industrialist and inventor Birger Malmsten (1920–1991), Swedish actor Birger Sandzén (1871–1954), Swedish-American painter Birger Sjöberg (1885–1929), Swedish poet and songwriter
Surname
Charles Birger (1881–1928), American bootlegger
Hugo Birger (1854–1887), Swedish painter
Malene Birger (born 1962), Danish fashion designer
Pablo Birger (1924–1966), Argentinian racing driver
Trudi Birger (1927-2002), German Holocaust survivor and writer
Birgir
Birgir is used in Iceland and the Faroes. In 2016, 1045 people had Birgir as a first given name in Iceland, and 285 had it as a second name.
Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson (1936–2019), Icelandic politician
See also
Burger (disambiguation) Burgers (surname) Berger Burgher (disambiguation) Bürger Børge Börje