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Eric

The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' 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", ''as in the form'' ''Æ∆inrikr'' explicitly, but it could also be from ''*aiwa(z)'' "everlasting, eternity", as in the Gothic form ''Euric''. The second element ''-ríkr'' stems either from Proto-Germanic ''*ríks'' "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic ''reiks'') or the therefrom derived ''*ríkijaz'' "kingly, powerful, rich, prince"; from the common Proto-Indo-European root *h₃rḗǵs. The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, autocrat" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful". ''Eric'' used in the sense of a proper noun meaning "one ruler" may be the origin of ''Eriksgata'', and if so it would have meant "one ruler's journey". The tour was the medieval Swedish king's journey, when newly elected, to seek the acceptance of peripheral provinces.

''Eric'' is one of the most commonly used Germanic names in the United States, along with Robert, William, Edward and others.

The most common spelling across Fennoscandia and in the Netherlands is ''Erik''. In Norway, another form of the name (which has kept the Old Norse diphthong) ''Eirik'' () is also commonly used. The modern Icelandic version is ''Eiríkur'' (), while the modern Faroese version is ''Eirikur''.

In Estonia and Finland (where Fenno-Swedish remains an official minority language), the standard Nordic name form ''Erik'' is found, but it may also be spelled phonetically as ''Eerik'' (), in accordance with Finnic language orthography, along with a slew of other unique Balto-Finnic variant forms including ''Eerikki'', ''Eero'', ''Erki'' and ''Erkki''.

Although the name was in use in Anglo-Saxon England, its use was reinforced by Scandinavian settlers arriving before the Norman conquest of England. It was an uncommon name in England until the Middle Ages, when it gained popularity, and finally became a common name in the 19th century. This was partly because of the publishing of the novel ''Eric, or, Little by Little'' by Frederic Farrar in 1858.

The Latin form of the name is ''Euricus'' or ''Erīcus'' (), which was also adopted into Old Swedish usage (for example, cf. 15th century Kalmar Swedish historian Ericus Olai). Whence come the Greek forms Ερίκος (Eríkos) or Ερρίκος (Erríkos) (both ), in addition to the direct Nordic borrowing Έρικ (Érik).

''Éric'' () is used in French, ''Erico'' in Italian, ''Érico'' in Portuguese. (Note some phonetically simplified modern forms may be conflated with descendants of cognate name Henry via Henrīcus, Henrik, from Proto-Germanic Haimarīks, sharing the stem *rīks.)

Among Slavic languages, most using the Latin alphabet borrow ''Erik'', but there also exists Polish ''Eryk''. The name is adapted into Cyrillic as Russian Э́йрик (Éyrik) or Э́рик (Érik), and Ukrainian Е́рік (Érik). The Baltic languages use forms such as Latvian ''Ēriks'' and Lithuanian ''Erikas''. Meanwhile in Kazakhstan, ''Ерік'' (''Erik'') is used.

And in Germany, ''Eric'', ''Erik'' and ''Erich'' are used. In South America, the most common spelling is ''Erick''.

In Norway, Sweden and Finland, the name day for derivations of Erik and Eirik is 18 May, commemorating the death of Saint King Eric IX of Sweden, founder of the royal House of Eric.

The feminine derivative is ''Erica'' or ''Erika''. Provided by Wikipedia