Erika (given name)

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Erika/Erica
Pronunciation Eh-rik-AH alternatively Eh-RI-kah
Gender Female
Origin
Word/Name Old Norse
Meaning "ever powerful",
"eternal ruler",
"autocrat"
Other names
Related names Eric, Erik
Look up Erica, Erika, or erica in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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-Norse *aina(z) meaning "one" or "alone", or from Proto-Norse *aiwa(z) meaning "ever" or "eternal".[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, where it is thought to have been introduced through Western influence in the aftermath of World War II (along with names like Ann/Anna, Emily and Karen). 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.[4]

People

Fictional characters

  • 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 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
  • 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

See also

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

References

  1. ↑ Entries ÆiríkR, Æi- in Nordiskt runnamnslexikon (2002) by Lena Peterson at the Swedish Institute for Linguistics and Heritage (Institutet för språk och folkminnen).
  2. ↑ Erik - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics. Nordicnames.de. Retrieved on 2013-02-01.
  3. ↑ 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).
  4. ↑ Manning, John; Paterson-Jones, Colin (2008). Field Guide to Fynbos. Struik Publishers, Cape Town. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-77007-265-7. 


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