The given name Erika is a female name with multiple meanings of Old Norse and Japanese origin.

Erika, Erica
Pronunciation/ˈɛrɪkə/
Italian: [ˈɛːrika]
German: [ˈeːʁika]
Japanese: [ˈɛːrika]
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameOld Norse, Japanese
Meaning"eternal ruler",
"ever powerful" (Germanic)
Region of originGermania, Japan
Other names
Related namesEric, Erik, Frederica, Frederick

Erika and the variants Erica, Ericka, or Ereka are feminine forms of Eric, derived 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-Norse *aina(z), meaning "one, alone, unique",[1] as in the form Æinrikr explicitly, or from *aiwa(z) "long time, eternity".[2] The second element -ríkr stems either from *ríks "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic reiks) or from the therefrom derived *ríkijaz "kingly, powerful, rich".[3] The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, monarch" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful".[4] It is a common name in many Western societies.

Erika (えりか , エリカ) is a common female Japanese given name in Japan. It has multiple meanings depending on the kanji. The Japanese origin of the given name has nothing in common with the Nordic roots of the Western version. 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".[5]

People with the name

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Entries "Æiríkʀ", "Æi-", in: Nordiskt runnamnslexikon Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen). Entry "EIN" at Nordic Names. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. ^ Entry "Erik" at Nordic Names Wiki. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  3. ^ Entries "Æiríkʀ", "Ríkʀ" and "-ríkʀ" in Nordiskt runnamnslexikon Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
  4. ^ The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 1992. p. 11.[ISBN missing]
  5. ^ Manning, John; Paterson-Jones, Colin (2007). Field Guide to Fynbos. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-77007-265-7.