Given name & surname · also Old Norse
Eric
“ever the ruler”
Eric is used as a given name and a surname. One Scandinavian interpretation is “ever the ruler.”
Original Old NorseEiríkr
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scandinavian interpretation is “ever the ruler.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
From Middle English Eric, from Old English Eoric, from Old Norse Eirríkr, from Proto-Germanic *Aizarīkijaz, from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king”), built from Old Norse ei (“always, eternal”) + ríkr (“ruler”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Eric through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 893,184
- 888,891 boys · 4,293 girls
- Most popular year
- 1970
- 23,719 babies
- 2025
- 1,256
- #273 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −38%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,256 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 273 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 38.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 23,571 in 1970. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (177). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 767,096 as a first name in 2020; 663 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Eric’s family of names
Eric has a feminine form in Erica. In Finnish usage, Eric has a related form in Erik. In English usage, Eric has a feminine form in Erika.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Eric has relatives in 47 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
Old Norsewhere Eric comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 28
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Erickvariant · English
- Erikvariant · English, German
- Aricvariant · English
- Erichvariant · German
- Eerovariant · Finnish, Estonian
- Erykvariant · Polish
- Erriclikely variant
- Ericclikely variant
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Eriquevariant · English
- Eriqvariant · English
- Erecvariant
- Erycvariant
- Eryckvariant
- Errickvariant
- Erixvariant
- Erekvariant
- Eerikkivariant · Finnish
- Erkovariant · Estonian
- Erkivariant · Estonian
- Eerikvariant · Finnish, Estonian
- Erkkivariant · Finnish
- Jerkervariant · Swedish
- Ergovariant · Estonian
- Ereckvariant
- Erikasvariant · Lithuanian
- Erickasvariant
- Ericasvariant
- Erigvariant
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 67
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Eiríkrolder form · Old Norse
- Henryequivalent
- Enriqueequivalent
- Harryequivalent
- Haroldequivalent
- Erikafeminine form · English
- Henrikequivalent
- Ericafeminine form · English
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Henriequivalent
- Hendrikequivalent
- Airicognate · Finnish
- Henriqueequivalent
- Enricoequivalent
- Henrykequivalent
- Heinrichequivalent
- Haraldequivalent
- Ericson“son of” surname · English
- Eirikcognate · Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian
- Henkequivalent
- Heinequivalent
- Enricequivalent
- Hendricequivalent
- Henrichequivalent
- Heinzequivalent
- EricoSpanish, Italian
- ErikoEsperanto
- Hinrichequivalent
- Hynekequivalent
- Hinnerkequivalent
- Jindřichequivalent
- Henricusequivalent
- Ericusequivalent
- ЭрикRussian
- ÉricoPortuguese
- Éricsource · French
- Euricdoublet · English
- Henrikasequivalent
- Henrihequivalent
- Hendricusequivalent
- Henkeequivalent
- Henkleequivalent
- Andrinequivalent
- Eoricolder form · Old English
- Е́рікUkrainian
- ÊrikSlovene
- Э́рикRussian
- ਐਰਿਕPunjabi
- ErikiMāori
- ĒriksLatvian
- ĒrīcusLatin
- 에릭Korean
- エリックJapanese
- EiríkurIcelandic
- एरिकHindi
- ΈρικGreek
- ΕρρίκοςGreek
- ერიქGeorgian
- EuricoGalician
- EirikurFaroese
- 埃里克Mandarin
And 7 more.
People named Eric
- George OrwellBritish writer and journalist (1903–1950)
- Eric ClaptonBritish musicianborn 1945
- Eric HobsbawmBritish academic historian and Marxist historiographer (1917–2012)
- Eric AbidalFrench footballer (born 1979)
- Eric Allin CornellAmerican physicist, professor (born 1961)
- Eric BanaAustralian actorborn 1968
- Eric IdleBritish comedian, actor and writer (born 1943)
- Eric DierEnglish association football playerborn 1994
- Eric KandelAmerican neuropsychiatristborn 1929
Characters named Eric: Eric Cartman (South Park), Eric Foreman (House), Eric Forman (the television series That '70s Show), Eric Castel.
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Eric, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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—
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Roderick has Germanic roots, with later Scottish and Welsh uses that follow different paths.
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Rodrick is a masculine given name.
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“a king”
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