Krik
A masculine Scandinavian name, theorized to be derived from the Old Norse word kriki meaning "brook" or "creek".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Krik. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Krik today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Krik births was 1968 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Krik. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Krik. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1968
6 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
1986 SSA rank
#6,370
Tracked since 1968
Popularity
Krik: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Krik from the 1960s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Krik 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 Krik during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Krik
The given name Krik is believed to have its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, which was spoken in the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around the 3rd millennium BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Sumerian word "krikku," which means "to twist" or "to coil." This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with certain professions or crafts involving the twisting or coiling of materials, such as basket weaving or pottery making.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Krik can be found in a cuneiform tablet from the city of Ur, dated to approximately 2200 BCE. The tablet appears to be a record of administrative transactions and lists an individual named "Krik-ilu," which translates to "Krik is my god" or "Krik is divine." This hints at the possibility that the name may have held religious significance or was associated with a particular deity in ancient Sumerian culture.
In the centuries that followed, the name Krik continued to be used sporadically in various Mesopotamian civilizations, including the Akkadian and Babylonian empires. One notable figure bearing this name was Krik-nadin, a high-ranking official who served under the Babylonian king Nabonidus in the 6th century BCE.
Moving forward in history, records from the ancient Greek world mention a philosopher named Krik of Miletus, who lived in the 5th century BCE. Krik is said to have been a student of the renowned thinker Anaxagoras and is credited with pioneering the concept of atomism, which later influenced the works of Democritus and Epicurus.
During the Middle Ages, the name Krik appears to have fallen out of widespread use, but it resurfaced in the 16th century with the birth of Krik Gerhardsson, a Swedish nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Kalmar War against Denmark between 1611 and 1613.
In more recent times, one of the most prominent individuals bearing the name Krik was the British explorer and naturalist Krik Douglass (1822-1888). Douglass is renowned for his expeditions to Central Asia and his discoveries of several previously unknown species of plants and animals, including the Douglass squirrel and the Douglass fir tree.
Another notable figure was Krik Stevenson (1896-1971), a Scottish-born American architect who rose to prominence in the mid-20th century. Stevenson's most celebrated works include the Civic Opera House in Chicago and the iconic Empire State Building in New York City, which he co-designed with his partner William F. Lamb.
People
Krik + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Krik as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Krik: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Krik?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Krik 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Krik a common name?
We classify Krik as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Krik most popular?
The single biggest year for Krik was 1968, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Krik is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Krik a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Krik 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.