Eriq
A variant form of Eric, from the Old Norse name Eiríkr meaning "ever ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 729 living Americans carry the first name Eriq. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eriq today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eriq births was 1995 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eriq. 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
729
~ 1 in 470,171 Americans
Peak year
1995
75 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,918
Tracked since 1988
Census
Eriq in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 648 people with the first name Eriq, which placed it at #17,157 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,157
National first-name rank
People counted
648
648 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
44.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eriq
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriq is Black at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.6%) and White (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eriq described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eriq at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American44.9% · 291
- Hispanic or Latino25.6% · 166
- White18.1% · 117
- Two or more races8.2% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.8% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Popularity
Eriq: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eriq from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 395 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eriq 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 Eriq during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eriqs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Eriq, while Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eriq
The given name Eriq is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, where it was derived from the root word "rik," meaning "ruler" or "leader." This name was particularly prevalent among the Germanic tribes that inhabited various regions of Europe, such as the Franks, Saxons, and Goths, during the early medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eriq can be found in the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a translation of the biblical book of Matthew into the Gothic language. In this text, the name appears as "Airik," which is believed to be a variant spelling of the same name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Eriq. One of the most famous was Eric the Red (c. 950 – c. 1003), a Norse explorer and outlaw who is credited with establishing the first European settlement in Greenland. Another prominent figure was Eric IX of Sweden (c. 1120 – 1160), a Swedish king who reigned during the 12th century and played a significant role in the Christianization of Sweden.
In the realm of literature, Eriq appears as the name of a character in the Old English epic poem "Beowulf," which dates back to around the 8th or 9th century. This Eriq is described as a skilled warrior and a member of the Geatish tribe.
During the Middle Ages, the name Eriq was also popular among the Scandinavian and Germanic nobility. One notable example is Eric VI of Denmark (1274 – 1319), a Danish king who ruled in the early 14th century and was instrumental in the consolidation of royal power in Denmark.
In more recent times, the name Eriq has been borne by several notable individuals, including Eric the Red (c. 1945 – ), a Welsh actor and singer best known for his roles in various British television series and films.
While the name Eriq has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, such as Erik, Erick, and Erich, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Germanic languages and their reverence for leadership and strength.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Eriq
People
Eriq + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eriq as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eriq: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eriq?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 729 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eriq 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 470,171 US residents.
Is Eriq a common name?
We classify Eriq as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 742 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eriq most popular?
The single biggest year for Eriq was 1995, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eriq is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eriq in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 648 people with the name Eriq, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,157 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eriq in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eriq?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eriq appears almost entirely male. Of the 646 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eriq?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eriq is Black at 44.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.6%) and White (18.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eriq most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Eriq in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.9% (291 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eriq in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eriq a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eriq 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.
Is Eriq still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eriq in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eriq can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Eriq as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Eriq on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.