Errol

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Erol in GR Greece, TR Türkiye.

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 in 1 language 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◐

Errol is also recorded as another name, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name21K records spelled Errol5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Philippines, Costa Rica, France

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French

  Also written Ërról

51 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●

Errol 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.

• Transferred use of the Scottish surname, which derives from a place name. It has been made famous by the film actor Errol Flynn (1909-59), noted for his ‘swashbuckling’ roles. He was born in Australia, but spent most of his career in Hollywood. It is now very popular as a Black name, influenced by such figures as the jazz pianist Erroll Garner. Variant: Erroll.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, A male given name transferred from the surname, popularized by American Actor Errol Flynn.

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

• In German, ) Erroll ['erol]: männl. Vom., der auf einen schottischen Familiennamen zu­ rückgeht, dem wiederum ein Ortsname zugrunde liegt.

  as a name·DUDEN Lexikon der Vornamen

• Guerriero, nobile

  as a name·Il grande libro dei nomi per bebè. Significato, origini, curiosità. Oltre 7000 nomi per bambine e bambini Significato,…

• Trotamundos

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

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) — 116 years between 1896–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Errol Flynnb. 1909AUAustralian actor (1909–1959)
• Errol Barrowb. 1920BBBarbadian politician (1920-1987)
• Errol Johnb. 1924TTTrinidad and Tobago actor and playwright
• Errol Charlesb. 1941LCSaint Lucian politician
• Errol Le Cainb. 1941GBBritish animator and illustrator (1941-1989)
• Errol Brownb. 1943JMBritish singer and songwriter (1948–2015)
• Errol Muskb. 1946ZASouth African businessman (born 1946) of Dutch-British descent
• Errol Morrisb. 1948USAmerican filmmaker and writer (born 1948)
• Stu Ungarb. 1953USnot in their usual nameAmerican poker player (1953–1998)
• Ashley Williamsb. 1984GBnot in their usual nameWelsh association football player (born 1984)

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 · 391 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Errol?

We estimate roughly 11 thousand people bear Errol (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Errol have the most bearers?

Errol is most frequently recorded in the Philippines, where it is most often spelled errol.

Where is Errol most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Errol is densest in Guyana — about 1 in 1.2 thousand people — even though Philippines holds more of our records for it.

How common is Errol compared with other names?

In Guyana, Errol is the 35th most common given name of 22,162 given names recorded there.

Is Errol a male or female name?

Errol is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Errol mean?

Recorded meaning: in England from OE Eoforwulf, in Scotland from Errol, Perth; first attested Roger Euerolf 1327