Eric
Sign in to saveAlso known as Eric (given name), Eric (first name)
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr (or Eríkr in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
Key facts
- Given Name Revised.name
- Eric, Erich, Erik, Erick, Erikk, Eirik, Eiríkur
- Given Name Revised.image
- Eric little by little title page.jpg
- Given Name Revised.image_size
- 200
- Given Name Revised.caption
- Title page from 1891 edition of the book Eric, or, Little by Little, whose popularity is credited with increasing the use of the name Eric in Britain
- Given Name Revised.pronunciation
- ErikErich
- Given Name Revised.gender
- Male
- Given Name Revised.meaning
- "sole ruler","eternal ruler"
- Given Name Revised.variant
- Eiríkr
- Given Name Revised.region
- Germania
- Given Name Revised.language
- North Germanic
- Given Name Revised.name day
- Sweden & Norway: 18 May
- Given Name Revised.origin
- Old Norse
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 5 more facts
- Commons category
- Eric (given name)
- native label
- Eric
- Soundex
- E620
- Cologne phonetics
- 078
- Caverphone
- ARK111
via Wikidata · CC0
~30 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Royalty
- Danish
- Norwegian
- Swedish
- Given name
- A–E
- F–L
- M–Z
- Fictional characters
- Surname
- See also
- References
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr (or Eríkr 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", as in the form Æ∆inrikr explicitly, but it could also be from *aiwa(z) "everlasting, eternity", as in the Gothic form Euric. 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. The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, autocrat" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful". 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". The tour was the medieval Swedish king's journey, when newly elected, to seek the acceptance of peripheral provinces.