Erasmus
About Erasmus
Erasmus has long retained the image of the bearded and bespectacled Dutch philosopher, but could be one that the audacious baby namer just might dare to dust off.
The fourth century Saint Erasmus was also known as Elmo, the patron saint of sailors. The name is closely associated with Renaissance humanist and theologian Desiderius Erasmus, who was born Geert Geerts.
Another less known bearer was Charles Darwin's grandfather, the poet, naturalist and physician Erasmus Darwin. The fictional Erasmus Holyday is a learned teacher in Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth, published at a time when the name did have some popularity in England.
As of October 2026, Erasmus ranked #11160 in US births in 2021 SSA, peaked at #810 in 1881, Nameberry popularity #834.
Editor's take: The name Erasmus is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "beloved, desired".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
World rankings
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Erasmus on lists
Famous Erasmuss
- Erasmus Darwin
English physician; grandfather of Charles Darwin
- Erasmus James
American NFL football player
- Erasmus Gower
British naval officer and colonial governor
- Erasmus Ommanney
British naval officer and Arctic explorer
- Erasmus Arlington "Arlie" Pond
American baseball player and army physician
- Desiderius Erasmus
Dutch Renaissance scholar and author of "Praise of Folly"
Erasmus in pop culture
- Erasmus
character in "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow" by Jessica Day George
- Erasmus
character in "Barbie of Swan Lake"
- Erasmas
character in "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson
- Erasmus Holiday
character in "Kenilworth" by Sir Walter Scott
- Erasmus Lee
a character from the popular Netflix series “Peaky Blinders”
Variations & nicknames
- ErasmoSpanish
- ErusmoSpanish
- IsasmoSpanish
- ErazinoSpanish
- EresmoSpanish
- RasmusSpanish
- ErasmunSpanish
- RasSpanish
- ÉrasmeFrench