girl's name
Erika
EH-ri-kuh
- Origin Scandinavian
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 5
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 146,727
Northern Ireland
#483
2023 births
Erika means ever-ruler, the feminine of Erik — and it is also the botanical name for heather, which is a separate Greek word that happens to match. It charts in six of the seven markets we track.
- Erika is a name of Scandinavian origin.
- Peaked in 1990, when 4,593 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 15,565 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1908.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Erika over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 5 |
| 1910s | 39 |
| 1920s | 123 |
| 1930s | 171 |
| 1940s | 379 |
| 1950s | 890 |
| 1960s | 5,331 |
| 1970s | 24,428 |
| 1980s | 37,127 |
| 1990s | 35,204 |
| 2000s | 16,741 |
| 2010s | 4,448 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,326 |
What Erika means
Erika means ever-ruler, or sole ruler, as the feminine of Erik. A separate Greek word for heather shares the spelling by coincidence rather than descent.
Where Erika comes from
Erika is the Scandinavian and German feminine of Erik, from the Old Norse Eiríkr — ríkr, a ruler, with a first element read either as ever or as one. The plant collision is genuine but accidental: Erica is the botanical genus for heather, from the Greek ereike, and it has no connection to the Norse name. German and Scandinavian speakers hear both, which is why the name reads as floral in some countries and regal in others. The K-spelling is Scandinavian and the C-spelling English.
Erika in use
Erika peaked in the United States in 1990, when 4,593 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 695th in Ireland on 5 births, 754th in Scotland, 916th in England and Wales on 39, 1111th in the United States on 213 and 1251st in France on 30, across 146,727 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. Ireland and Scotland both place it above America.
How popular is Erika?
In 2025, Erika was given to 213 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Erika is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Erika is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Érika | Érika is a rare spelling of Erika, written with an acute accent and recorded about 110 times, mostly in France. | 110 |
Names that peaked alongside Erika
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Erika also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Erika over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Erika
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Erika in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Erika
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Erika — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Erika
What does the name Erika mean?
Ever-ruler, as the feminine of Erik.
Does Erika mean heather?
Erica is the botanical genus for heather, from a Greek word. It matches the Norse name by coincidence, not descent.
Is it Erika or Erica?
Erika is the Scandinavian and German spelling; Erica the English.
How popular is Erika?
695th in Ireland, its strongest market, and 1111th in the United States.
Is Erika a girl's or a boy's name?
Erika is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Erika?
Erika has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Erika?
Erika is usually shortened to Rika.
Is Erika a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Erika currently ranks #695 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.