Erika (given name)
Erika/Erica/Ericka | |
---|---|
Pronunciation | Eh-rik-AH alternatively Eh-RI-kah |
Gender | Female |
Origin | |
Word/name | Old Norse |
Meaning |
"eternal ruler", "one ruler", "ever powerful" |
Other names | |
Related names | Eric, Erik |
The given name Erika, or Erica, is a feminine form of Eric, deriving from the Old Norse name Eiríkr (or Eríkr in Eastern Scandinavia due to monophthongization). The first element, ei- is derived either from the older Proto-NorseZ*aina(z) meaning "one" or "some", or from Proto-Norse *aiwa(z) meaning "fair" or "tradition".[1][2] The second element -ríkr derives either from *rík(a)z meaning "ruler" or "prince" (cf. Gothic reiks), or from an even older Proto-Germanic *ríkiaz which meant "powerful" and "rich".[3] The name is thus usually taken to mean something along the lines of "one ruler", "autocrat", "eternal ruler" or "ever powerful".
It is a common name in many Western societies. It is also a popular given name in Japan. Erica is also the name of a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, commonly known as "heaths" or "heathers" in English, and is the Latin word for "heather".[4]
People
- Érika Alcocer Luna (born 1974), Mexican singer, winner of the second generation of La Academia
- Erika Alexander (born 1969), American actress
- Erica Alfridi (born 1968), Italian race walker
- Erika Araki (born 1984), Japanese national volleyball team captain
- Erica Bartolina (born 1980), American pole vaulter
- Erica Bougard (born 1993), American heptathlete
- Erika von Brockdorff (1911–1943), German resistance fighter during the Second World War
- Erica Campbell (born 1981), former American glamour model
- Erica Atkins-Campbell, (born 1972), American singer most famous from Mary Mary
- Erika Christensen (born 1982), American actress
- Erika Coimbra (born 1980), Brazilian volleyball player
- Erika Cosby, American painter and daughter of Bill Cosby
- Erika Cremer (1900–1996), German physicist
- Erica Durance (born 1978), Canadian actress best known for her role as Lois Lane on Smallville
- Erika Eleniak (born 1969), American actress and Playboy Playmate
- Erika Fisch (born 1934), German athlete
- Erika Fuchs (1906–2005), German translator
- Erika González (born 1972), Mexican freestyle swimmer
- Erika Hansen (born 1970), American swimmer
- Erika Heynatz (born 1976), Australian model, actress, singer and television personality
- Erica Hill (born 1976), American journalist
- Erica Jarder (born 1986), Swedish long jumper
- Erika Jayne, dance/electronica artist
- Erica Johansson (born 1974), Swedish long jumper
- Erica Jong (born 1942), American author
- Erika Kinsey (born 1988), Swedish high jumper
- Erika Kirpu (born 1992), Estonian épée fencer
- Erika Landin, actress and Big Brother contestant
- Erika Liebman (1738–1803), Swedish poet
- Erika de Lone, (born 1972), retired American professional tennis player
- Erica Luttrell (born 1982), Canadian actress
- Erika Mann (1905–1969), German writer, the daughter of Thomas Mann
- Erika Mann (politician) (born 1950), German politician
- Erika Mitchell is the real name of author E. L. James (born 1963)
- Érika Olivera (born 1976), Chilean marathon runner
- Erica Packer (born 1975), Australian singer and model
- Erica Parsons (born 1998), a child who was abused and murdered
- Erika Pluhar (born 1939), Austrian actress, singer and author
- Erica Rose (born 1982), American long-distance swimmer
- Erika Rudolf (born 1954), Hungarian high jumper
- Erica Sakurazawa (born 1963), Japanese manga author
- Érika or Érika Cristiano dos Santos (born 1988), Brazilian football defender
- Erika Sawajiri (沢尻 エリカ, born 1986), Japanese gravure model, singer and actress
- Erika Slezak (born 1946), American actress best known for her long-running role as Viki Davidson on One Life to Live
- Érika de Souza (born 1982), Brazilian basketball player
- Erika Steinbach (born 1943), German politician
- Erika Toda (戸田 恵梨香, born 1988), Japanese actress
- Erika Umeda (born 1991), Japanese singer and model, former member of Cute
- Erika Wendt (1917–2003), German WWII spy
- Erika Yazawa (born 1990), Japanese gravure model, actress and member of Idoling!!!
- Erykah Badu (born 1971), American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, and actress
Fictional characters
- Erica Reyes, a now-deceased werewolf in MTV's television series Teen Wolf.
- Erika Berger, a character in the novels comprising the "Millennium series" by Stieg Larsson
- Erica Farrell, a former character from the original Degrassi series
- Erica Fontaine, a character from the Sakura Taisen franchise
- Erica Goldberg, a character from The Goldbergs
- Erica Hahn, a character from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy
- Erica Hartmann, a character from the Strike Witches anime
- Hayasaka Erika, a major character in the webcomic Megatokyo
- Erika Ford, a character from the American television sitcom Friends
- Erika Furudo, a character in Umineko no Naku Koro ni
- Erica Kane, a long-running character on the American soap opera All My Children
- Erika Kohut, the main character in the novel The Piano Teacher of the Austrian nobel prize winner Elfriede Jelinek
- Erica Strange, the main character of Being Erica, a Canadian comedy-drama series on CBC Television
- Erica Yurken, the protagonist of the novel Hating Alison Ashley and its film adaptation
- Erika Kurumi, a character from the anime series HeartCatch PreCure!
- Princess Eirika, one of two main characters in the video game Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
- Erika or Arika Amazake, a character from the role-playing video game franchise Medabots
- Erika or Eriko, a character from the anime series Idol Densetsu Eriko
- Erika, a character from the anime series Daimos
- Erika (Pokémon), a character who operates the Celadon City Gym in Pokémon media
- Erika (Underworld), a character from the 2003 Underworld film
- Erika Itsumi, the vice-commandant of Kuromorimine Girls High School from the Anime series Girls und Panzer
- Erika, Yuuki Asuna's avatar in Alfheim Online from the Light Novel "Sword Art Online"
- Erika Shinohara, the heroine of the Anime series "Ōkami Shōjo to Kuro Ōji"
- Erika, the name of all angels in the serial podcast "Welcome to Nightvale"
- Erica Davidson - first governor of Wentworth Detention Centre in the original Prisoner series
See also
References
- ↑ Entries ÆiríkR, Æi- in Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
- ↑ Erik - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics. Nordicnames.de. Retrieved on 2013-02-01.
- ↑ Entries ÆiríkR, RíkR and -ríkR in Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
- ↑ Manning, John; Paterson-Jones, Colin (2007). Field Guide to Fynbos. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-77007-265-7.