Eric

EH-rik; EH-reek

Old Norse

"eternal ruler"

Eric Origin and Meaning

The name Eric is a boy's name of Scandinavian, Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler".

Eric is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, from the components ei, meaning "ever," and ríkr, "rule." It was adopted by English speakers in the mid-nineteenth century, who were already familiar with the exploits of the tenth century Viking navigator and discoverer of Greenland, Eric the Red. Erik is an alternate spelling and the preferred form of the name across much of Europe.

Eric—the all-time most popular Scandinavian boys’ name in the U. S.—peaked in the 70s, during the Ricky Nelson/Rick Springfield period and from the mid-sixties to the late eighties, it was on the Top 25 list.

Recent years have seen it decline, as alternative 'rick' names like Maverick have climbed. Nevertheless, it remains in The US Top 300, with spelling variations Erick and Erik also in the Top 500 too. When you add all these Erics together, it begins to feel like a name just outside the Top 100, similar in popularity to August, Nicholas, Myles or Dominic.

Some of its best-known bearers include: Eric Clapton, Eric Idle, Eric Dane and major characters in The Little Mermaid, True Blood and Friday Night Lights, not to mention Eric Cartman on South Park. Simon Cowell named his first son Eric after his father.

The Old-World traditional spelling Erik is currently popular in Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland and Norway - and is also favored in the UK, where Eric is out of style.

Eric Rank in US Top 1000

# 251 in the US

Eric Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 250 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Eric

• 251 US 2024
• 250 Nameberry 2025
• 303 Future 2028
• 162 England 2024
• 36 Germany 2017
• 50 Spain 2023
• 189 switzerland 2023

20 Names Similar to Eric

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Eric.

• Christian
• Jeremiah
• Jeremy
• Jonathan
• Anthony
• Jason
• Nicolas
• Kevin
• Carlos
• Stephen
• Christopher
• Alan
• Mark
• Aaron
• Marcus
• Johnathan
• Brian
• Michael
• Adam
• Antonio

Famous People Named Eric

• Eric Victor Burdon English singer
• Eric Patrick Clapton English musician
• Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson American singer and actor
• Eric William Dane American actor
• Eric West American actor
• Eric Benet (Jordan) American singer
• Eric Thomas Decker American NFL football player
• (Kenneth) Eric Church American country singer
• Eric Scott Melvin American musician
• Eric Marlon Bishop birth name of American actor Jamie Foxx
• Eric Christian Olsen American actor
• Eric Burnell Zentner American model
• Eric Saade Swedish Singer
• Eric Thomas Andolsek American former NFL player
• Eric Lloyd American actor, comedian and musician
• Eric Koston pro skateboarder
• Eric Anthony Roberts American actor
• Eric Millegan American actor
• Eric Kyle Szmanda American actor
• Eric Henry Liddell Scottish athlete
• Eric Hobsbawm English historian
• Eric Stoltz American actor, director and producer
• Eric Hosmer American baseball player
• Eric Kripke American television writer, director and producer
• Eric Roberts American actor
• Eric Meyers voice actor
• Eric Idle British comedian and actor
• Eric Stough American animation director, producer and voice actor
• Eric Cowell (b. 2014) son of English TV and music producer Simon Cowell
• Eric Richard English actor ('The Bill', British television series)
• Eric Faulkner Scottish musician
• Eric Trump son of President Donald Trump

The name Eric in Pop Culture

• Eric Northman character on TV's "True Blood"
• Eric Finch character in "V for Vendetta"
• Eric Jackson character in "The 100"
• Eric prince in Disney's "The Little Mermaid"
• Eric Forman character on TV's "That '70s Show"
• Eric Foreman character on TV's "House"
• Eric Matthews character on TV's "Boy Meets World"
• Erik Night character on TV's "House of Night"
• Eric Van Der Woodsen Serena's brother on TV's "Gossip Girl"
• Eric Delko character on TV's "CSI: Miami"
• Eric Taylor a main character on TV's "Friday Night Lights"
• Eric Cartman character on animated series "South Park"
• Eric Brooks aka Blade character in Marvel comics/films
• Eric "Cat" Chant main character in "Charmed Life"
• Eric Weiss character on TV's "Alias"
• Eric Bartholomew Beale III character on TV's "NCIS: Los Angeles"
• Eric Shellhorn character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Eric Richard "Bitty" Bittle character in webcomic "Check, Please!"
• Eric Birling character in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
• Eric character in Aphmau's YouTube series
• Prince Eric character in animated movie "Barbie in the Nutcracker"
• Eric character in animated movie "Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus"
• Eric Lassard character in the "Police Academy" Film series

International Variations of the name Eric

• Erich Czech
• Eirik Norwegian
• Eriks Russian
• Éric French
• Eryk Polish
• Eero Finnish
• Erik Scandinavian
• Erkki Finnish
• Erico Spanish