Derives from Turkic *kɨr "steppe" and *gɑ[d] "tribe." Although their name ended with final -rʲ, it is not clear if they were originally Oğur speakers or were simply late in the process of sound changes.

The tribal name Qırğır has been variously transcribed as:

Gekun (隔昆) LH* kɛk-kuən < OC *krêk-kûn - Records of the Grand Scribe
Jiankun (堅昆) LH *ken-kuən < OC *kîn-kūn - Records of the Grand Scribe
Hegu (紇骨) LH *gət-kuət - Book of Wei
Qigu (契骨) MC *kʰiei-kwət - Book of Zhou
Xerxir (Xερχίρ) AG *kʰerkʰír - History (of Menander)

The ethnogenesis of the Qırğır tribe can be traced to at least the 3rd century B.C.E., sometime before the reign of Bağatur Darğa. In the Records of the Grand Scribe, they are mentioned as a tribe north of the Hoŋa, inhabiting an area close to the Hunyu (渾庾), Qıpçaq (屈射), Tägäräk (丁零), and Sir (薪犁) tribes. Academia Sinica places them at the coordinates 96.48, 53.35, near the Minusinsk Basin. Brosseder & Miller’s (2011) compilation of Hoŋa sites map a Hoŋa settlement near this location as well. The cultures referred to as the “Tagar Culture” and its succeeding “Tashtyk Culture” were also based in the area around the Minusinsk Basin and no doubt contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Qırğır tribe. Turkic-speaking ethnic Scythians likely had a sizeable population among Western Turkic tribes such as the Qırğır.