Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre

Administrative centre

An administrative centre is a term often used in several countries to refer to a county town, or other seat of regional or local government, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located....

 of Stord

Stord

Stord is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" - as it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural land, and mountain areas....

 municipality in the county of Hordaland

Hordaland

is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Leirvik is the regional centre of Sunnhordland

Sunnhordland

Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, consisting of the southern, coastal regions of the county of Hordaland, from the mouth of the Hardangerfjord and outwards to the Atlantic Ocean...

, and has many public services and offices such as the regional court and Sunnhordland Museum, as well as shops and restaurants. In 2009, Leirvik had a population of 11,424, and covers an area of 8.46 square kilometres with a population density of 1,350 per square kilometre. Leirvik has approximately 65% of the total population of Stord. It is the largest urban area that is located in a municipality where Nynorsk

Nynorsk

Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...

 is the preferred language form.

Confusingly, when the municipality of Stord declared township, they decided to name the town "Stord". This was to ensure that Leirvik and its surrounding areas were large and populous enough to qualify for Norwegian town status. Even though this is the official name, the public acceptance of this is minimal, and the name of the urban community remains "Leirvik". The name translates into 'clay bay', the word "leire" meaning "clay

Clay

Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...

" and "vik" meaning "bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

". The name comes from the high concentration of clay in the ground. The locals often refer to Leirvik by the name "Vikjo" rather than "Leirvik".