Eric
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Eiríkr.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Eric (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Eric has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1998. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 258 |
| 1999 | 198 |
| 2000 | 215 |
| 2001 | 236 |
| 2002 | 221 |
| 2003 | 211 |
| 2004 | 192 |
| 2005 | 193 |
| 2006 | 155 |
| 2007 | 172 |
| 2008 | 159 |
| 2009 | 155 |
| 2010 | 124 |
| 2011 | 134 |
| 2012 | 145 |
| 2013 | 102 |
| 2014 | 66 |
| 2015 | 60 |
| 2016 | 67 |
| 2017 | 47 |
| 2018 | 53 |
| 2019 | 51 |
| 2020 | 35 |
| 2021 | 34 |
| 2022 | 17 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 6,993 |
| 2000 | 7,157 |
| 2001 | 7,395 |
| 2002 | 7,557 |
| 2003 | 7,716 |
| 2004 | 7,866 |
| 2005 | 8,005 |
| 2006 | 8,101 |
| 2007 | 8,241 |
| 2008 | 8,437 |
| 2009 | 8,606 |
| 2010 | 8,739 |
| 2011 | 8,863 |
| 2012 | 9,007 |
| 2013 | 9,089 |
| 2014 | 9,152 |
| 2015 | 9,207 |
| 2016 | 9,259 |
| 2017 | 9,303 |
| 2018 | 9,326 |
| 2019 | 9,369 |
| 2020 | 9,407 |
Eric in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Eric.Hi! My name is Eric.
- Eric har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Eric has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Vet du om Eric kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Eric is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Erics mamma är lärare.Eric's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Erics mamma is Eric's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Eric
How do you pronounce Eric in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Eric in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Eric mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Old Norse. From Old Norse Eiríkr.
How popular is Eric in Sweden?
17 babies were named Eric in 2022. In 2020, 9,407 people in Sweden had Eric as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 1998 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.