Shulamit Spain wrote:
I hope that this keeps the discussion going and I still hope to
get an explanation for GEIER/GAJARY as a Slavonic place name.

Actually, there is an explanation for the Gayer's Slavonic place name. In 1880
Polish Kingdom Geographical Dictionary (Slownik Geograficzny Krolewstwa Polskiego)
there are 16 references to localities GAJE distibuted as follows per territories:
four located in the Poland Prussian part, five in Russian Lithuania and seven in
Galicia.

In 1929 Poland towns listings, Gaje town name appears eight imes: two Gaje were
located in Wolhynia (Dubno and Krzemieniec), three in Tarnopol (Brody), and three
in Lwow region (Drohobycz). IMHO Gajer is most probably a Yiddishe menschen >from
Gaje, and the surname was developed very same way as Bialystoker, Warschauer,
Posner and others.

BTW, Polish "Gaje" represent a plural form of orchard, wood or groove.

Alexander Sharon
Calgary, Ab