Given name & surname
Erich
“ever the ruler”
Erich is a variant of Eric. One Scandinavian interpretation is “ever the ruler.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Erich is a variant of Eric. One Scandinavian interpretation is “ever the ruler.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Erich is a variant of Eric. An origin associated with Eric is Old Norse.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Erich through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,706
- 11,674 boys · 32 girls
- Most popular year
- 1971
- 343 babies
- 2025
- 15
- #5,937 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 15 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,937 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 16.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 343 in 1971. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 10,617 as a first name in 2020; 501 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.
Erich’s family of names
In East Central German usage, Erich has a diminutive in EHR. Erich shares a linguistic root with Eric. In German usage, Erich has a related form in Erica.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Erich has relatives in 9 languages.
12 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 37
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Henryequivalent
- Enriqueequivalent
- Harryequivalent
- Haroldequivalent
- Henrikequivalent
- Henriequivalent
- Hendrikequivalent
- Henriqueequivalent
Show 29 moreShow fewer
- Henrykequivalent
- EnricoItalian
- AricEnglish
- Heinrichequivalent
- Haraldequivalent
- Eirikcognate · Norwegian Bokmål
- ErykPolish
- Enricequivalent
- Hendricequivalent
- Henrichequivalent
- Heinzequivalent
- Henkequivalent
- Heinequivalent
- Hinnerkequivalent
- Jindřichequivalent
- Henricusequivalent
- ÉricoPortuguese
- ÉricFrench
- Henrikasequivalent
- Èricequivalent
- Henrihequivalent
- Hendricusequivalent
- Henkeequivalent
- Henkleequivalent
- Andrinequivalent
- Eiríkurequivalent
- Ericusequivalent
- Hinrichequivalent
- Hynekequivalent
People named Erich
- Erich Maria RemarqueGerman-born novelist (1898–1970)
- Erich FrommGerman-American sociologist and psychoanalyst (1900–1980)
- Erich Honeckerformer leader of East Germany, General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (1976-1989)1912–1994
- Erich LudendorffGerman general and politician (1865–1937)
- Erich KästnerGerman children's writer (1899–1974)
- Erich von MansteinGerman field marshal (1887-1973)
- Erich von DänikenSwiss pseudoscientific writer and ufologist (1935–2026)
- Erich RaederGerman admiral (1876–1960)
- Erich von StroheimAustrian actor and director (1885–1957)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Erich, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ernie
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
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Darrick
“an oak-hearted man; one who is strong”
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Shelton
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Rich
“a powerful ruler”
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Alfonzo
“prepared for battle; eager and ready”
>99% boys
Demond
“man of the mountain”
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Boris
“a warrior; having battle glory”
>99% boys
Jermaine
“woman from Germany” · “a man from Germany”
>99% boys