Eryk
A short name carrying a big claim: "ever ruler", grouped in Polish records among Slavic names. It goes to boys and boys only, and it still lands inside the country's 300 most-given names, familiar without being everywhere.
Eryk Pronunciation
Eryk is pronounced E-rihk (/ˈɛrɨk/).
What Eryk means
Where Eryk comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Eryk renders in Polish as wieczny władca, an ever ruler. The meaning is bold for so short a name, and Polish records keep it grouped among Slavic names. That sense of an unending rule gives the name its backbone, and the variants turn it toward girls: eryka and erika grow from the same root.
Every 18 May the calendar marks Eryk's imieniny. The day honours Saint Eric IX Jedvardsson, a king of Sweden, so a real crowned ruler stands behind the greeting cards. A child called Eryk shares his day with a king.
Read the register of a Polish first-grade class and Eryk turns up often near the top, four clean letters, easy to call across a room. The K gives it a firm ending. Whatever else shifts around it, the name still means what it always has: ever ruler, wieczny władca.
When Eryk celebrates name day
Eryk appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 18 May.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Eryk
1 in 713 men in Poland is named Eryk. 29,934 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #241 among male names.
Eryk's popularity over time
405 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #124 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where parents choose Eryk
Eryk is most popular in Lesser Poland, 38% above the national average (504 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Opole (+37%) and Silesian (+34%). It is least common in Holy Cross and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 35% and 24% below average respectively.
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Lesser Poland
+38%1 in 450 babies
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Opole
+37%1 in 452 babies
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Silesian
+34%1 in 463 babies
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Holy Cross
−35%1 in 956 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
−24%1 in 816 babies
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Masovian
−22%1 in 793 babies
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Lesser Poland+38% 504 born1 in 450 babies+38%
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Opole+37% 102 born1 in 452 babies+37%
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Silesian+34% 492 born1 in 463 babies+34%
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Subcarpathian+23% 240 born1 in 502 babies+23%
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Pomeranian+3% 245 born1 in 601 babies+3%
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Łódź+1% 207 born1 in 612 babies+1%
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Lubusz±0% 80 born1 in 621 babies±0%
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Warmian-Masurian−2% 113 born1 in 635 babies−2%
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Lower Silesian−12% 224 born1 in 701 babies−12%
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Greater Poland−12% 306 born1 in 703 babies−12%
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Podlaskie−16% 89 born1 in 739 babies−16%
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West Pomeranian−18% 111 born1 in 761 babies−18%
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Lublin−20% 132 born1 in 778 babies−20%
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Masovian−22% 447 born1 in 793 babies−22%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−24% 134 born1 in 816 babies−24%
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Holy Cross−35% 58 born1 in 956 babies−35%
Eryk as a middle name
Eryk is a first name for 29,934 men in Poland and a middle name for another 8,159, a 79/21 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 108th, between Teodor (8,218) and Nikodem (8,103).
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#106 Walenty9,384
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#107 Teodor8,218
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#108 Eryk8,159
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#109 Nikodem8,103
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#110 Romuald7,947