Eric

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Eric

Gender: Masculine
Language: English

Etymology:
Eric is the English form of Eirik, a Scandinavian name. Originally it meant “Always the Ruler ” or “One King,” from “ei” (ever), or “einn” (one, alone) and “ríkr” (ruler).

History:
Eric was introduced to England by Scandinavian marauders before the Norman Invasion. It survived as a rare name until the end of the Middle Ages. Eric was revived in England in the 19th century after an 1858 novel by Frederick William Farrer (Eric: or, Little by Little) became popular.

Pronunciation: ERR-ick.

Alternates: Erick, Eryk.
Danish: Erik.
Finnish: Eikki, Eerik, Eero.
German: Erich.
Hawaiian: Elikapeka.
Latin: Ericus, Iricus.
Swedish: Erik, Jerk, Jerker.

Surnames:
English: Herrick.
Latin: Erici.
Swedish: Eriksson.

Feminine: Erica.

See also: Erik.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Eric Gill (1882-1940)
British sculptor.
Erich Heckel (1883-1970)
German painter.
Erich Salomon (1886-1944)
German photographer.
Erich Mendelsohn (1887-1953)
German architect.
Erich Kleiber (1890-1956)
Austrian conductor.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
American composer.
Eric Walrond (1898-1966)
Caribbean writer.
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970)
German novelist.
Eric Linklater (1899-1874)
British writer.
Erich Kästner (1899-1974)
German writer.
Eric Ambler (1909-1998)
British author and screenwriter.
Erich Leinsdorf (1912-1993)
Austrian-American pianist.
Eric Dolphy (1928-1964)
American jazz musician.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (1865-1949)
German geographer.
Erich Moritz von Hornbostel (1877-1935)
Austrian musicologist.
Erich Frank (1883-1949)
German philosopher.
Erich Auerbach (1892-1957)
German educator.
Eric Partridge (1894-1979)
New Zealand lexicographer.
Eric Voegelin (1901-1985)
German-American political scientist.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983)
American philosopher.
Eric Frederick Goldman (1915-1989)
American historian.
Eric Bentley (1916-)
British literary critic.
Eric Robert Wolf (1923-1999)
Austrian-American anthropologist.

Miscellaneous:
Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937)
Prussian general.
Erich Raeder (1876-1960)
German Naval officer.
Eric Lemming (1880-1930)
Swedish Olympic athlete.
Erich von Manstein (1887-1973)
German military commander in World War II.
Eric Liddell (1902-1945)
British Olympic runner.
Eric Sevareid (1912-1992)
American broadcast journalist.
Eric Marcel Guy Tabarly (1931-1998)
French yachtsman.
Eric Heiden (1958-)
American Olympic athlete.
Eric Cantona (1966-)
British soccer player.

Political Figures:
Count Eric Dahlbergh (1625-1703)
Swedish soldier.
Erich von Falkenhayn (1861-1922)
Prussian minister of war.
Eric Williams (1911-1981)
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Togabo.
Erich Honecker (1912-1994)
East German Communist official.
Eric Matthew Gairy (1922-1997)
Grenadan politician.

Scientists:
Eric Temple Bell (1883-1960)
Scottish-American mathematician.
Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg (1871-1962)
Austrian botanist.
Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
German-American psychologist.
Eric F. Wieschaus (1947-)
American biologist. Co-winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Singers and Entertainers:
Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957)
Austrian filmmaker.
Eric Rohmer (Jean-Marie-Maurice Scherer) (1920-)
French filmmaker.
Eric Richard Porter (1928-1995)
British actor.
Eric Clapton (1945-)
British rock musician.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.544 % named Eric
0.068 % named Erik
0.023 % named Erick
0.007 % named Erich

Popularity of Eric:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 254th most popular.
1910-1920: 426th most popular.
1920-1930: 487th most popular.
1930-1940: 317th most popular.
1940-1950: 159th most popular.
1950-1960: 74th most popular.
1960-1970: 27th most popular.
1970-1980: 14th most popular.
1980-1990: 21st most popular.
1990: 24th most popular.
1991: 26th most popular.
1992: 26th most popular.
1993: 30th most popular.
1994: 31st most popular.
1995: 34th most popular.
1996: 35th most popular.
1997: 34th most popular.
1998: 39th most popular.
1999: 39th most popular.
2000: 42nd most popular.
2001: 43rd most popular.
2002: 54th most popular.
2003: 57th most popular.

In France...
1900: 163rd most popular.
1910: 115th most popular.
1919: 164th most popular.
1920: N/A
1929: 181st most popular.
1930: 196th most popular.
1940: 106th most popular.
1950: 69th most popular.
1960: 7th most popular.
1970: 8th most popular.
1980: 36th most popular.
1990: 97th most popular.
1999: 192nd most popular.
2000: N/A

Popularity of Erick:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 902nd most popular.
1910-1950: N/A
1950-1960: 751st most popular.
1960-1970: 388th most popular.
1970-1980: 272nd most popular.
1980-1990: 253rd most popular.
1990: 192nd most popular.
1991: 188th most popular.
1992: 195th most popular.
1993: 187th most popular.
1994: 170th most popular.
1995: 181st most popular.
1996: 182nd most popular.
1997: 191st most popular.
1998: 205th most popular.
1999: 189th most popular.
2000: 185th most popular.
2001: 189th most popular.
2002: 181st most popular.
2003: 179th most popular.

In France...
1900-1940: N/A
1946: 199th most popular.
1950: 168th most popular.
1960: 109th most popular.
1967: 196th most popular.
1970-2000: N/A

Popularity of Erich:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 480th most popular.
1910-1960: N/A
1960-1970: 605th most popular.
1970-1980: 490th most popular.
1980-1990: 589th most popular.
1990: 732nd most popular.
1991: 764th most popular.
1992: 742nd most popular.
1993: 784th most popular.
1994: 785th most popular.
1995: 893rd most popular.
1996: 877th most popular.
1997: 946th most popular.
1998: N/A

In France...
1900: 153rd most popular.
1910: 192nd most popular.
1917: 166th most popular.
1920-2000: N/A