Eric

Meaning: Eternal ruler
Origin: Old Norse

Boy's name · #273 in the US (2025) · Retro

Popularity over time

Eric's best rank, #13, came in 1973; it has stepped well back to #273 today. Roughly 889,000 boys have been named Eric since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Eric is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 45 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Eric ranks in other countries and regions.

#50 in Spain (2024) · #168 in England & Wales (2025) · #196 in Switzerland (2025) · #211 in Ireland (2025) · #243 in Italy (2024) · #249 in New Zealand (2025) · #270 in N. Ireland (2025) · #271 in Canada (2025) · #311 in Austria (2025) · #333 in Scotland (2025) · #335 in Poland (2025) · #366 in Mexico (2024) and 9 more.

Famous Erics

Eric Clapton — British musician (born 1945)
Eric Cantona — French actor and footballer (born 1966)
Eric Hobsbawm — British academic historian and Marxist historiographer (1917–2012)
Eric Abidal — French footballer (born 1979)
Eric Allin Cornell — American physicist (born 1961)
Eric Dane — American actor (1972–2026)
Eric Bana — Australian actor (born 1968)
Eric Roberts — American actor (born 1956)
Eric Trump — American businessman (born 1984)
Eric Adams — Mayor of New York City from 2022 to 2025 (born 1960)

In stories & tradition

Eric Cartman — Fictional character in South Park
Eric (Blade) — The Tomb of Dracula (comics)
Eric Foreman — House M.D. (TV series)

What Erics become

Among 9,523 notable people named Eric:

Sports figures appear 1.33× more often than among typical names — e.g. Eric Cantona, French actor and footballer (born 1966).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variants Erick (#366) and Erik (#546), Eric would rank around #135 with about 2,700 births last year — the newborns split about 47/33/20 across Eric, Erick, and Erik.

Similar names: Erick · Jeffrey · Eros · Derek · Bradley · Richard

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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