Eryk
A masculine name of Old Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 1,028 living Americans carry the first name Eryk. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eryk today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eryk births was 2001 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eryk. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 333,419 Americans
Peak year
2001
51 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,936
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Eryk: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eryk from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 383 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eryk 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 Eryk during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eryks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Illinois, New York, California recorded the most babies named Eryk, while New Jersey, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 51 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eryk
The given name Eryk is a variant spelling of the name Eric, which has its origins in the Old Norse language. It is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr, which is composed of the elements ei, meaning "ever" or "always," and ríkr, meaning "ruler" or "mighty." Thus, the name Eryk can be interpreted as meaning "ever ruler" or "eternal ruler."
The name Eryk was initially used among the Norse and Germanic peoples of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It gained widespread popularity during the Viking Age, when Norse explorers and raiders ventured across Europe and beyond. The name is also closely associated with the Normans, who were descendants of Norse settlers in the region of Normandy, France.
One of the earliest and most notable historical references to the name Eryk can be found in the Old Norse sagas, which recount the exploits of Norse heroes and kings. In these sagas, several characters bear the name Eiríkr, including Eric the Red (950-1003), the famous Norse explorer who is credited with establishing the first Norse settlement in Greenland.
Throughout history, the name Eryk has been borne by numerous individuals of note. One of the earliest recorded examples is Eryk the Victorious (c. 945-994), a Danish king who ruled from 986 until his death. Another notable figure was Eryk IX (c. 1090-1159), a Swedish king who reigned from 1156 to 1159.
In more recent times, the name Eryk has been carried by several prominent figures, including Eryk Lipiński (1837-1915), a Polish violinist and composer; Eryk Jaskulski (1900-1984), a Polish alpine skier who competed in the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympics; and Eryk Rocha (born 1959), a Mexican film director and screenwriter known for his work in independent and arthouse cinema.
Other notable individuals with the name Eryk include Eryk Williamson (born 1997), an American soccer player who currently plays for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer; Eryk Anders (born 1987), an American mixed martial artist who competes in the UFC's middleweight division; and Eryk Bagshaw (born 1981), an Australian journalist and author.
People
Eryk + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eryk 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
Eryk: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eryk?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,028 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eryk 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 333,419 US residents.
Is Eryk a common name?
We classify Eryk as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,046 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eryk most popular?
The single biggest year for Eryk was 2001, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eryk is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eryk a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eryk 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.