Eric
 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 | |
| Pronunciation | English: /ˈɛrɪk/ ERR-ik French: [eʁik] Romanian: [ˈerik] Erik Swedish: [ˈêːrɪk] Dutch: [ˈeːrɪk] (  listen)Erich German: [ˈeːʁɪç] ( listen) |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Language(s) | North Germanic |
| Name day | Sweden & Norway: May 18 |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Old Norse |
| Meaning | "sole ruler", "eternal ruler" |
| Region of origin | Germania |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Eiríkr |
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr [ˈɛiˌriːkz̠] (or Eríkr [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 Æinrikr 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 WIKI