Erik

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Eric in US United States, FR France, GB United Kingdom and 5 more, Erika in MX Mexico, PE Peru, DE Germany and 5 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 6 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◐

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

• Portuguese given name1.1M records spelled Erik21 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Mexico, United States, Argentina

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Italian

  Also written Érik, Eri-K, Erïk, Erík, Ërik

• Finnish given name200K records spelled Erik5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Sweden, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Erîk, Èrik, Érik

• Hungarian given name186K records spelled Erik4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, Slovenia, United States, United Kingdom

  Also written Érik, Érík, Erïk

• French given name44K records spelled Erik3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, Netherlands, Belgium

  Also written Érik, Eri-K

• a separate given name43K records spelled Erik5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Sweden, Norway, India

  Also written Ėrik, Érik, Èrik, Eriḳ

• Indonesian given name34K records spelled Erik8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Malaysia, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Erik, Érik, Erïk, Ërik, Eŕik

• a separate given name21K records spelled Erik6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Norway, Sweden, Canada

  Also written Ęrîk, Eŕik, Érik, Eŕįk, Ërik

• Turkish given name19K records spelled Erik11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Netherlands, United States, Türkiye, Sweden

  Languages: Turkish, Azerbaijani

  Also written Эрик, Ërîk, Erīk, Érik, Èrik

72 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●

Erik 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.

• In Danish, a male given name from Old Norse, feminine equivalent Erika, equivalent to English Eric

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

• In English, A male given name from Old Norse, variant of Eric.

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

• In English, Norwegian; honourable ruler

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In Norwegian, Honourable Ruler

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In Estonian, a male given name from Old Norse, variant of Eerik, Eero, Erki, or Erko, feminine equivalent Erika, equivalent to English Eric

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

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) — 112 years between 1911–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Eric IV of Denmarkb. 1216DKnot in their usual nameKing of Denmark (1216-1250)
• Erik XIVb. 1533SESwedish king (1533-1577)
• Erik Axel Karlfeldtb. 1864SESwedish poet (1864–1931)
• Harry Houdinib. 1874USnot in their usual nameHungarian-born American illusionist, escapologist, and stunt performer (1874–1926)
• Erik Eriksonb. 1902DEAmerican German-born psychoanalyst & essayist
• Svante Pääbob. 1955SEnot in their usual nameSwedish geneticist (born 1955)
• Erik ten Hagb. 1970NLDutch football manager (born 1970)
• Olof Mellbergb. 1977SEnot in their usual nameSwedish football manager (born 1977)
• Nico Rosbergb. 1985DEnot in their usual nameGerman–Finnish former Formula 1 racing driver
• Erik Lamelab. 1992ARArgentine 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 · 1,245 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Erik?

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

In which country does Erik have the most bearers?

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

Where is Erik most common?

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

How common is Erik compared with other names?

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

Is Erik a male or female name?

Erik 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 Erik mean?

Recorded meaning: a male given name from Old Norse, variant of Eerik, Eerikki, Eero, or Erkki, feminine equivalent Erika, Eriika, or Eerika, equivalent to English Eric