Eric comes from the Old Norse Eiríkr, from ei, ever or alone, and ríkr, ruler, and means "eternal ruler" or "ever powerful". Erik the Red, the Viking who settled Greenland, and Erik Bloodaxe carried it in the sagas, and Eric Clapton and the prince in The Little Mermaid kept it familiar in America. Eric was a top 20 name in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s; it was number 42 in 2000, number 138 in 2015 and ranks number 273 among boys' names in 2025.