Eric sits comfortably in the UK charts at #162 in 2024 — recognisable but not overwhelming. Your child may occasionally share their name.
📊
UK Rank 2024
#162
US Rank #251
About the Name Eric
Eric is gradually declining in popularity, having dropped 33 places over five years. Its high point was #124 in 2018, and it now sits at #162. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996.
Eric is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school — standing out on every register.
In the US it sits at #251 — notably more popular in the UK than across the Atlantic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Eric
Unlikely. With around 308 UK babies named Eric per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Eric in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Eric has been declining in UK popularity, dropping 33 places in the last five years. Its peak was #124 in 2018. Choosing it now means he is likely to be among the last of his generation with this name.
Eric is more popular in the UK (#162) than in the US (#251). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Eric include: Eric Byrnes — Eric James Byrnes, is an American baseball analyst and former outfielder.; Eric Szmanda — Eric Kyle Szmanda is an American actor.; Eric Shinseki — Eric Ken Shinseki is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States secretary of veterans affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as the....
Eric appears in the US top 500 at #251 in 2024 — moderately popular in America, though less so than in the UK.
308
UK babies named Eric (2024)
~0.0
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.2
In a school of 600
↓ 33 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Eric
Likely around 1 other Eric in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2024)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Eric
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Eric James Byrnes, is an American baseball analyst and former outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners.
Eric Kyle Szmanda is an American actor. He is best known for having played Greg Sanders in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a role he held from the show's beginning in 2000 until it ended in 2015.
Eric Ken Shinseki is a retired United States Army general who served as the seventh United States secretary of veterans affairs from 2009 to 2014 and as the 34th chief of staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003. Shinseki is a veteran of two tours of combat in the Vietnam War, in which he was awarded three Bronze Star Medals for valor and two Purple Hearts.
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr [ˈɛiˌriːkz̠] (or Eríkr [ˈeˌriːkz̠] 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.
Eric Schweig is a Canadian Inuvialuk actor best known for his role as Chingachgook's son Uncas in The Last of the Mohicans and the hitman Avanti in One Battle After Another.