Eric Explained

Eric, Erich, Erik, Erick, Erikk, Eirik, Eiríkur
Pronunciation:
in French eʁik/
in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan ˈerik/
Erik
in Swedish ˈêːrɪk/
in Dutch; Flemish ˈeːrɪk/
Erich
pronounced as /de/
Gender:Male
Meaning:"sole ruler",
"eternal ruler"
Variant:Eiríkr
Region:Germania
Language:North Germanic
Name Day:Sweden & Norway: 18 May
Origin:Old Norse

The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr in Norse, Old pronounced as /ˈɛiˌriːkz̠/ (or Eríkr in Norse, Old pronounced as /ˈeˌriːkz̠/ in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).

The first element, ei- may be derived from the older Proto-Norse *aina(z), meaning "one, alone, unique",[1] as in the form Æ∆inrikr explicitly, but it could also be from *aiwa(z) "everlasting, eternity",[2] as in the Gothic form Euric.[3] The second element -ríkr stems either from Proto-Germanic *ríks "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic reiks) or the therefrom derived *ríkijaz "kingly, powerful, rich, prince"; from the common Proto-Indo-European root *h₃rḗǵs.[4] The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, autocrat" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful".[5] Eric used in the sense of a proper noun meaning "one ruler" may be the origin of Eriksgata, and if so it would have meant "one ruler's journey".[6] The tour was the medieval Swedish king's journey, when newly elected, to seek the acceptance of peripheral provinces.

Eric is one of the most commonly used Germanic names in the United States, along with Robert, William, Edward and others.[7]

The most common spelling across Fennoscandia and in the Netherlands is Erik. In Norway, another form of the name (which has kept the Old Norse diphthong) Eirik (in Norwegian ˈæ̂ɪrɪk/) is also commonly used.[8] The modern Icelandic version is Eiríkur (in Icelandic ˈeiːˌriːkʏr̥/),[9] [10] [11] while the modern Faroese version is Eirikur.

In Estonia and Finland (where Fenno-Swedish remains an official minority language), the standard Nordic name form Erik is found, but it may also be spelled phonetically as Eerik (in Finnish ˈeːrik/), in accordance with Finnic language orthography, along with a slew of other unique Balto-Finnic variant forms including Eerikki, Eero, Erki and Erkki.[12] [13] [14] [15]

Although the name was in use in Anglo-Saxon England, its use was reinforced by Scandinavian settlers arriving before the Norman conquest of England. It was an uncommon name in England until the Middle Ages, when it gained popularity, and finally became a common name in the 19th century. This was partly because of the publishing of the novel Eric, or, Little by Little by Frederic Farrar in 1858.

The Latin form of the name is Euricus or Erīcus (pronounced as /la-x-medieval/), which was also adopted into Old Swedish usage (for example, cf. 15th century Kalmar Swedish historian Ericus Olai).[16] Whence come the Greek forms Ερίκος (Eríkos) or Ερρίκος (Erríkos) (both in Greek, Modern (1453-); pronounced as /eˈri.kos/), in addition to the direct Nordic borrowing Έρικ (Érik).[17] [18]

Éric (in French e.ʁik/) is used in French, Erico in Italian, Érico in Portuguese. (Note some phonetically simplified modern forms may be conflated with descendants of cognate name Henry via Henrīcus, Henrik, from Proto-Germanic Haimarīks, sharing the stem

.)

Among Slavic languages, most using the Latin alphabet borrow Erik, but there also exists Polish Eryk. The name is adapted into Cyrillic as Russian Э́йрик (Éyrik) or Э́рик (Érik), and Ukrainian Е́рік (Érik). The Baltic languages use forms such as Latvian Ēriks and Lithuanian Erikas.[19] [20] [21]

And in Germany, Eric, Erik and Erich are used.[22] In South America, the most common spelling is Erick.

In Norway, Sweden and Finland, the name day for derivations of Erik and Eirik is 18 May, commemorating the death of Saint King Eric IX of Sweden, founder of the royal House of Eric.

The feminine derivative is Erica or Erika.

Royalty

Visigothic

Danish

Norwegian

Swedish

Given name

Eric, Erich, and Erik are very common given names. The below list is a sampling. See,, and for comprehensive lists.

A–E

F–L

M–Z

Fictional characters

Surname

See also

Notes and References

  1. Entries "Æiríkʀ", "Æi-", in: Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen). Entry "EIN" at Nordic Names. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Erik Entry "Erik"
  3. T. Perrenot, La toponymie burgonde, Payot, 1942, p. 211.
  4. Entries "Æiríkʀ", "Ríkʀ" and "-ríkʀ" in Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
  5. Book: The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. 1992. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. 11. Frank Nuessel. 2017-07-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20170706075502/https://www.questia.com/read/15138768/the-study-of-names-a-guide-to-the-principles-and. dead.
  6. https://archive.org/details/svensketymologis00hell Swedish etymological dictionary, by Elof Hellquist (1922), p. 121
  7. Web site: Top Names over the Last 100 Years.
  8. In November 2008, there were 20,000 men named Erik in Norway (appr. 0.9% of the male pop.) and 13,000 named Eirik (0.8%). Source: Statistics Norway, http://www.ssb.no/navn/)
  9. http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=eric Behind The Name
  10. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=eric Etymology Online
  11. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ United States Social Security Database
  12. https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Eerik Eerik
  13. https://www.behindthename.com/name/eerik Eerik
  14. https://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Eero Eero
  15. https://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Eerikki Eerikki
  16. https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Ericus Ericus
  17. http://www.names-n-gifts.com/onoma.asp?onomaID=2975 Έρικ
  18. http://www.names-n-gifts.com/onoma.asp?onomaID=3041 Ερρίκος
  19. https://www.behindthename.com/name/eryk Eryk
  20. https://www.behindthename.com/name/e23riks Ēriks
  21. https://www.behindthename.com/name/erikas Erikas
  22. http://www.gfds.de/vornamen/beliebteste-vornamen/ Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS): Beliebteste Vornamen

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