The village name means The monastery, or house of Jerir, named after the celebrated Arab poet Jarir. Sherds from the Mamluk era have been found here. In 1354, in the Mamluk era, much of the revenue from Deir Jarir was given to a waqf in Jerusalem, to be used for the Madrasa of Al-Khatuniyya. In 1491-92 Deir Jarir yielded annually 3,800 aspers in revenue to this Madrasa.
In 1517, Deir Jarir was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the nahiya of Quds in the liwa of Quds. It had a population of 23 households, all Muslim. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, olives, vineyards, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or bee hives; a total of 4,300 akçe. Shards from the early Ottoman era have also been found. In 1838 it was noted as Deir Jureir, a Muslim village, located in the Beni Murrah region, north of Jerusalem. The French explorerVictor Guérin visited the village in 1863 and in 1870, and he found it having about 200 inhabitants. An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 111 houses and a population of 394, though the population count included men only. In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Dar Jerir as "A village of moderate size, with ancient tombs to the south, and a spring to the west; a few olives on the same side." In 1896 the population of Deir Jarir was estimated to be about 828 persons.
In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the village, named Dair Ijreer, had a population of 739, all Muslim. In the 1931 census the population of Deir Jarir was a total of 847, still entirely Muslim, in 172 inhabited houses. In the 1945 statistics, the population of Deir Jarir was 1,080, all Muslims, who owned of land according to an official land and population survey. 3,091 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 6,499 used for cereals, while were built-up land.
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Deir Jarir has been under Israeli occupation. The population of Deir Jerir in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,275, 18 of whom originated from the Israeli territory. After the 1995 accords, 15% of village land was classified as Area B, the remaining 85% as Area C. Israel has confiscated 1,264 of dunams of village land for the construction of the Israeli settlement of Kokhav HaShahar. In September 2005, hundreds of armed residents from Deir Jarir attacked the nearby town of Taybeh, which was provoked by a family feud. The feud was caused by a Christian man from Taybeh allegedly having intimate relations with a Muslim woman from Deir Jarir. The attack left 13 houses burnt, and three men were arrested. Despite the incident, the neighboring towns continue to have healthy relations; residents say "the people of Taybeh and the people of Deir Jarir are one family".
