Eric

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Erika in MX Mexico, PE Peru, DE Germany and 5 more, Erik in SE Sweden, NL Netherlands, DK Denmark and 1 more, Erica in BR Brazil, AR Argentina and Эрик in RU Russia, FI Finland.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 15 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Eric is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Akan given name415K records spelled Eric5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Ghana, United States, Kenya, South Africa

  Languages: Akan, Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Éric

• a separate given name234K records spelled Eric12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Éric, Erić, Eriç, Èric, Ëric

• Catalan given name33K records spelled Eric3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Andorra

  Also written Èric, Éric

• Finnish given name32K records spelled Eric8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Hungary, Sweden

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Êrìc, Èric, Erić, Éric

• Italian given name20K records spelled Eric6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy

  Also written Éric, Èric, Erić, Erič, Ërîç

• Thai given name14K records spelled Eric39 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Thailand, Laos, Philippines

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Erik, อีริค, อิริค, อูริค, Irak

• a separate given name8.9K records spelled Eric19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Canada, Norway, United Kingdom

  Also written Éric, Ęrįç, Érìc, Ěrīč, Erįc

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name7.7K records spelled Eric2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Éric

99 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Eric is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Of Old Norse origin, from ei ‘ever’, ‘always’ (or einn ‘one’, ‘alone’) + rikr ‘ruler’. It was introduced into Britain by Scandinavian settlers before the Norman Conquest. As a modern given name, it was revived in the mid- 19th century and has remained in use since.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• A Germanic name of uncertain meaning, which was revived in England in the nineteenth century. It has occasionally been used in modern Ireland.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, A fine paid as compensation for violent crimes.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In French, Du vieux norrois Eiríkr, « roi éternel, puissant à jamais »; fête de saint Éric le 18 mai.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Germanic: ‘toujours puissant, chef’ (ei ‘toujours’ + ríkr ‘puissant, chef’).

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• George Orwellb. 1903GBnot in their usual nameBritish writer and journalist (1903–1950)
• Eric Hobsbawmb. 1917GBBritish academic historian and Marxist historiographer (1917–2012)
• Eric Claptonb. 1945GBBritish musician
• Eric Maskinb. 1950USAmerican Nobel laureate in economics
• Jamie Foxxb. 1967USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor, comedian, and singer (born 1967)
• Dave Grohlb. 1969USnot in their usual nameAmerican rock musician
• Eric Prydzb. 1976SESwedish DJ and record producer (born 1976)
• William Gallasb. 1977FRnot in their usual nameFrench footballer (born 1977)
• Éric Abidalb. 1979FRFrench footballer (born 1979)
• Eric Dierb. 1994GBEnglish association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,838 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Eric?

We estimate roughly 1.9 million people bear Eric (counting its spellings and scripts) across 15 countries in our records.

In which country does Eric have the most bearers?

Eric is most frequently recorded in Mexico, where it is most often spelled erika.

Where is Eric most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Eric is densest in Sweden — about 1 in 35 people — even though Mexico holds more of our records for it.

How common is Eric compared with other names?

In Mexico, Eric is the 59th most common given name of 191,605 given names recorded there.

Is Eric a male or female name?

Eric is recorded for both men and women. We don't publish a percentage split: a record's gender belongs to the person and is attached to every given name on that record, so names in cultures where a name string also carries a parent's or spouse's given name pick up large cross-gender counts.

What does the name Eric mean?

Recorded meaning: Germanic name of uncertain meaning; revived in England in the 19th century and used occasionally in modern Ireland.