Erica is the feminine form of Eric, from the Old Norse Eiríkr, which means "eternal ruler" or "ever powerful"; it is also the Latin botanical name for heather. The name was a staple of the 1970s and 1980s, in the wake of the soap opera character Erica Kane. In the United States Erica ranked number 102 in 2000 and has fallen steadily since, dropping out of the top 1000 in 2019 and standing at number 1399 in 2025.