Aaric
A masculine name of Scandinavian origin meaning "eternal ruler" or "the ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 557 living Americans carry the first name Aaric. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Aaric today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aaric births was 2016 (35 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aaric. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
557
~ 1 in 615,358 Americans
Peak year
2016
35 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,727
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Aaric: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aaric from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 243 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aaric by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aaric during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aarics live
Origin
Meaning and history of Aaric
The name Aaric is a modern and relatively uncommon name, with origins that can be traced back to the Old Norse language. It is believed to be a variant of the Germanic name Eric, which itself derives from the Old Norse name Eiríkr. This name is composed of the elements "ei," meaning "ever" or "eternal," and "ríkr," meaning "ruler" or "powerful."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eiríkr can be found in the Old Norse sagas and historical records, where it was borne by several notable figures. Among them was Eric the Red (circa 950-1003), the famous Norse explorer who is credited with founding the first European settlement in Greenland.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Eric IX of Sweden (1120-1167), who reigned as King of Sweden from 1156 until his death. During his reign, he played a significant role in the Christianization of Sweden and the consolidation of royal power.
In the Middle Ages, the name Eric gained popularity across various parts of Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and the British Isles. One notable figure from this period was Eric of Pomerania (1382-1459), who ruled as King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the early 15th century.
The variant spelling Aaric emerged more recently, likely as a means of adding a distinctive or unique touch to the traditional name. While less common than the original Eric, it has been borne by a few notable individuals throughout history.
One such individual was Aaric Nevin (1936-1976), an American film producer and director best known for his work on the 1968 film "The Green Slime." Another was Aaric Kruisman (born 1968), a Dutch former professional soccer player who played as a defender for several clubs in the Netherlands and Belgium.
While not as widely used as some other names, Aaric remains a distinctive and historically rooted name with ties to the rich cultural heritage of the Norse and Germanic peoples.
People
Aaric + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aaric as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aaric: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aaric?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 557 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aaric going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 615,358 US residents.
Is Aaric a common name?
We classify Aaric as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 565 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aaric most popular?
The single biggest year for Aaric was 2016, when 35 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aaric is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Aaric a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aaric in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.