Meaning and History of the Name Greer

The Greer name can be either a surname, as in the writer Germaine Greer, or a given name, as in the actress Greer Garson. It can also be spelled Grear, Grier or Gryer. The meaning of Greer is “alert, watchful.” Greer is a Scottish name that’s the feminine form of Gregor, which is itself the Scottish form of Gregory, which has Greek origins. It can, rarely, be used as a boy’s name.

The surname Greer is derived from MacGregor, which means “son of Gregory,” and is the name of a powerful Scottish clan.

Meaning and History of the Name Greer

The popularity of Greer seems to be limited. It was not one of the hundred most popular girl’s names listed by the Scottish government, it was actually 1013rd most popular name (in 2013) . The latest statistics from the United States show that Greer is not even in the top thousand of girl’s names, although it had enjoyed a brief vogue in the 1940’s and 1950’s because of Greer Garson. By contrast, Greer is a relatively common last name, being the 426th most common surname out of the 88799 surnames in the United States.

Useful Resources

See other Scottish girls’ names on our website.