Eric

Last seen for girls in 2016 at #16,215 · #273 for boys in 2025, 1,256 births
Given to boys 99.5% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1976 · 21,359 births
Debut · boys
10 births
In top 100 · boys
61 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
888,891
since 1880

Eric over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201978peak #13, 1976boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#2731,256
2024—#2521,406
2023—#2271,547
2022—#2291,561
2021—#2131,790
2020—#1981,917
2019—#1762,205
2018—#1602,410
2017—#1432,782
2016#16,2155#1422,930
2015#16,4195#1383,046
2014#16,5135#1223,323
2013#10,23510#1183,265
2012—#1073,637
2011—#1043,751
2010#13,4487#954,201
2009#13,7047#954,646
2008#12,5798#865,377
2007#10,81810#835,959
2006#9,90111#776,232
2005#8,88312#666,697
2004#4,60129#617,133
2003#6,88516#567,787
2002#6,39217#527,928
2001#7,72413#448,559
2000#4,52726#429,162
1999#4,87022#399,382
1998#4,95521#399,964
1997#3,16137#3510,317
1996#3,23736#3511,611
1995#3,02238#3212,485
1994#2,41253#3013,311
1993#2,53349#2914,548
1992#2,31856#2616,145
1991#1,91373#2518,051
1990#1,81379#2419,430
1989#1,339115#2118,977
1988#996165#1920,175
1987#993158#2120,203
1986#1,018150#2219,528
1985#950163#2120,844
1984#974148#2220,955
1983#954154#2020,347
1982#1,053137#2019,878
1981#1,060134#1720,712
1980#966153#1622,611
1979#1,010141#1720,268
1978#939150#1619,761
1977#1,060124#1720,745
1976#956133#1321,359
1975#990124#1319,793
1974#908139#1320,193
1973#934130#1320,802
1972#1,000118#1622,027
1971#938137#1822,962
1970#891148#1823,571
1969#940128#2120,747
1968#1,23179#2218,501
1967#1,09790#2317,830
1966#1,18981#2516,475
1965#1,32368#2516,826
1964#1,49757#3214,567
1963#1,75443#3113,278
1962#1,78241#3312,348
1961#1,74243#3811,111
1960#2,30726#4410,539
1959#1,88135#469,726
1958#2,58120#508,190
1957#2,65119#606,621
1956#3,32113#795,252
1955#4,7407#854,660
1954#4,6557#894,169
1953#3,26912#893,929
1952#2,67116#883,989
1951#3,28411#933,664
1950#3,6629#983,095
1949#5,2445#1052,768
1948#5,2435#1142,491
1947#5,2955#1222,344
1946—#1341,820
1945—#1531,351
1944—#1581,195
1943—#1611,170
1942#3,7387#182866
1941—#199703
1940—#249482
1939—#258432
1938—#286370
1937—#309299
1936—#310296
1935—#320288
1934—#340259
1933—#351234
1932—#399199
1931—#385213
1930—#408206
1929—#406205
1928—#403221
1927—#419208
1926—#409214
1925—#410211
1924—#406228
1923—#463175
1922—#424200
1921—#458179
1920—#445186
1919—#426190
1918—#412202
1917—#413186
1916—#447155
1915—#436155
1914—#394145
1913—#413109
1912—#39993
1911—#49735
1910—#42141
1909—#43633
1908—#43830
1907—#49522
1906—#36333
1905—#46323
1904—#58715
1903—#32234
1902—#38826
1901—#37125
1900—#51821
1899—#45717
1898—#35030
1897—#33930
1896—#38825
1895—#43720
1894—#41920
1893—#53813
1892—#45818
1891—#41118
1890—#53313
1889—#38821
1888—#55413
1887—#54411
1886—#60510
1885—#46216
1884—#54712
1883—#55611
1882—#6529
1881—#5959
1880—#60010
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Eric was already there! It came in at #600, and was given to 10 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1884, when fewer than 13 boys a year got the name.

Where Eric is popular in 1978

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #14 for boys · 54 births · 1 in 62 boysAKMaine: #14 for boys · 123 births · 1 in 55 boysMEVermont: #14 for boys · 53 births · 1 in 53 boysVTNew Hampshire: #13 for boys · 105 births · 1 in 52 boysNHWashington: #22 for boys · 320 births · 1 in 84 boysWAIdaho: #31 for boys · 81 births · 1 in 98 boysIDMontana: #20 for boys · 75 births · 1 in 73 boysMTNorth Dakota: #11 for boys · 103 births · 1 in 51 boysNDMinnesota: #14 for boys · 530 births · 1 in 56 boysMNIllinois: #14 for boys · 1,190 births · 1 in 67 boysILWisconsin: #15 for boys · 555 births · 1 in 58 boysWIMichigan: #14 for boys · 1,021 births · 1 in 63 boysMINew York: #17 for boys · 1,352 births · 1 in 82 boysNYMassachusetts: #17 for boys · 484 births · 1 in 68 boysMARhode Island: #15 for boys · 89 births · 1 in 58 boysRIOregon: #20 for boys · 235 births · 1 in 77 boysORNevada: #26 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 88 boysNVWyoming: #16 for boys · 51 births · 1 in 63 boysWYSouth Dakota: #11 for boys · 95 births · 1 in 55 boysSDIowa: #14 for boys · 376 births · 1 in 56 boysIAIndiana: #14 for boys · 617 births · 1 in 64 boysINOhio: #18 for boys · 1,111 births · 1 in 69 boysOHPennsylvania: #17 for boys · 1,016 births · 1 in 72 boysPANew Jersey: #19 for boys · 479 births · 1 in 86 boysNJConnecticut: #15 for boys · 257 births · 1 in 64 boysCTCalifornia: #16 for boys · 1,957 births · 1 in 86 boysCAUtah: #29 for boys · 196 births · 1 in 91 boysUTColorado: #17 for boys · 260 births · 1 in 77 boysCONebraska: #21 for boys · 167 births · 1 in 69 boysNEMissouri: #18 for boys · 490 births · 1 in 71 boysMOKentucky: #17 for boys · 353 births · 1 in 77 boysKYWest Virginia: #16 for boys · 208 births · 1 in 66 boysWVVirginia: #21 for boys · 354 births · 1 in 90 boysVAMaryland: #16 for boys · 306 births · 1 in 70 boysMDDelaware: #17 for boys · 52 births · 1 in 68 boysDEArizona: #18 for boys · 211 births · 1 in 90 boysAZNew Mexico: #13 for boys · 131 births · 1 in 77 boysNMKansas: #16 for boys · 216 births · 1 in 72 boysKSArkansas: #13 for boys · 212 births · 1 in 70 boysARTennessee: #21 for boys · 337 births · 1 in 95 boysTNNorth Carolina: #21 for boys · 376 births · 1 in 99 boysNCSouth Carolina: #21 for boys · 194 births · 1 in 105 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #17 for boys · 91 births · 1 in 84 boysDCOklahoma: #25 for boys · 196 births · 1 in 101 boysOKLouisiana: #18 for boys · 336 births · 1 in 98 boysLAMississippi: #16 for boys · 208 births · 1 in 89 boysMSAlabama: #22 for boys · 257 births · 1 in 100 boysALGeorgia: #19 for boys · 412 births · 1 in 92 boysGAHawaii: #25 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 102 boysHITexas: #17 for boys · 1,167 births · 1 in 99 boysTXFlorida: #17 for boys · 593 births · 1 in 86 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. North Dakota#11 · 1 in 51
  2. South Dakota#11 · 1 in 55
  3. New Hampshire#13 · 1 in 52
  4. Arkansas#13 · 1 in 70
  5. New Mexico#13 · 1 in 77

Best ever in a state: #7 in Vermont, 1976.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
North Dakota#111031 in 51
South Dakota#11951 in 55
Arkansas#132121 in 70
New Hampshire#131051 in 52
New Mexico#131311 in 77
Alaska#14541 in 62
Illinois#141,1901 in 67
Indiana#146171 in 64
Iowa#143761 in 56
Maine#141231 in 55
Michigan#141,0211 in 63
Minnesota#145301 in 56
Vermont#14531 in 53
Connecticut#152571 in 64
Rhode Island#15891 in 58
Wisconsin#155551 in 58
California#161,9571 in 86
Kansas#162161 in 72
Maryland#163061 in 70
Mississippi#162081 in 89
West Virginia#162081 in 66
Wyoming#16511 in 63
Colorado#172601 in 77
Delaware#17521 in 68
District of Columbia#17911 in 84
Florida#175931 in 86
Kentucky#173531 in 77
Massachusetts#174841 in 68
New York#171,3521 in 82
Pennsylvania#171,0161 in 72
Texas#171,1671 in 99
Arizona#182111 in 90
Louisiana#183361 in 98
Missouri#184901 in 71
Ohio#181,1111 in 69
Georgia#194121 in 92
New Jersey#194791 in 86
Montana#20751 in 73
Oregon#202351 in 77
Nebraska#211671 in 69
North Carolina#213761 in 99
South Carolina#211941 in 105
Tennessee#213371 in 95
Virginia#213541 in 90
Alabama#222571 in 100
Washington#223201 in 84
Hawaii#25621 in 102
Oklahoma#251961 in 101
Nevada#26471 in 88
Utah#291961 in 91
Idaho#31811 in 98

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Eric
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 21 spots since 2024 (#252 → #273)
  • 75 spots since 2020 (#198 → #273)
  • 135 spots since 2015 (#138 → #273)
  • Biggest jump: 166 spots in 1889 (#554 → #388)
  • Biggest drop: 265 spots in 1904 (#322 → #587)
Rise & fade · boys
96 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1976 at #13 (21,359 births)
  • Births halved by 1997, 21 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 61 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 61 yrs · run 1950–2010
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 73
  • Highest: 1 in 73 boys born in 1976 were named Eric (1.4%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,360 boys born in 2025 (0.07%)
Era · boys
The 1970s
  • 23.8% of all boys named Eric (211,481) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s122#388 (1889)#550
1890s204#339 (1897)#433
1900s262#322 (1903)#438
1910s1,311#394 (1914)#426
1920s2,027#403 (1928)#424
1930s2,796#258 (1939)#337
1940s15,190#105 (1949)#158
1950s53,295#46 (1959)#78
1960s152,222#21 (1969)#29
1970s211,481#13 (1976)#15
1980s204,230#16 (1980)#20
1990s135,244#24 (1990)#31
2000s69,480#42 (2000)#66
2010s31,550#95 (2010)#131
2020s9,477#198 (2020)#232

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Eric in 1978

girls
#939
150 births · 1 in 10,212 girls
boys
#16
19,761 births · 1 in 83 boys

Top girls' names in 1978

  1. #1Jennifer56,314
  2. #2Melissa28,327
  3. #3Jessica26,102
  4. #4Amy23,213
  5. #5Heather22,270
  6. #6Amanda20,520
  7. #7Angela20,517
  8. #8Sarah19,976
  9. #9Michelle18,856
  10. #10Nicole17,279
  11. #939Eric150

Top boys' names in 1978

  1. #1Michael67,127
  2. #2Jason51,600
  3. #3Christopher47,236
  4. #4David40,684
  5. #5James39,894
  6. #6Matthew34,282
  7. #7John34,014
  8. #8Robert33,374
  9. #9Brian29,432
  10. #10Joseph26,663
  11. #16Eric19,761
More about 1978

girls

1,531,859 girls got a published name in 1978; 1 in 10,212 of them was named Eric, which outranked 91.8% of the 11,475 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.5% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Eric
  1. #936Alesha151
  2. #936Damaris151
  3. #936Rebeca151
  4. #939Eric150
  5. #939Anthony150
  6. #939Ashleigh150
  7. #939Danita150
  8. #947Imelda149
  9. #947Shonna149
  10. #949Esperanza148

Tied with 7 names at #939; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,240Aja#4,652 → #412
  2. ↑ 1,987Kiley#2,606 → #619
  3. ↑ 1,951Kylee#2,838 → #887
  4. ↑ 1,785Winter#2,780 → #995
  5. ↑ 1,620Kylie#2,026 → #406
Fallers
  1. ↓ 913Shalon#868 → #1,781
  2. ↓ 760Farah#854 → #1,614
  3. ↓ 519Tennille#462 → #981
  4. ↓ 398Shawnte#740 → #1,138
  5. ↓ 362Farrah#177 → #539

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,641,837 boys got a published name in 1978; 1 in 83 of them was named Eric, which outranked 99.8% of the 6,762 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Eric
  1. #13William24,170
  2. #14Ryan21,322
  3. #15Kevin20,094
  4. #16Eric19,761
  5. #17Timothy19,597
  6. #18Jeremy19,509
  7. #19Jeffrey16,989
Biggest movers since 1977
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,237Dequan#4,164 → #927
  2. ↑ 626Nicholaus#1,367 → #741
  3. ↑ 617Nicklaus#1,515 → #898
  4. ↑ 578Zebulon#1,476 → #898
  5. ↑ 424Anwar#1,121 → #697
Fallers
  1. ↓ 674Kinte#834 → #1,508
  2. ↓ 668Kunta#572 → #1,240
  3. ↓ 417Telly#732 → #1,149
  4. ↓ 415Lesley#937 → #1,352
  5. ↓ 310Amin#904 → #1,214

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1978 →