Eirik

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• Eirek, Erik, Erek, Erke

Etymology

From Old Norse Eiríkr, from Proto-Norse *ᚨᛁᚹᚨᚱᛁᚲᛁᛃᚨᛉ (*aiwarikijaʀ /⁠*aiwarīkijaʀ⁠/) or *ᚨᛁᚾᚨᚱᛁᚲᛁᛃᚨᛉ (*ainarikijaʀ /⁠*ainarīkijaʀ⁠/), from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (“long time, eternity”) + *rīkijaz (“mighty, rich”). Cognate with Faroese Eirikur, Icelandic Eiríkur, and Swedish and Danish Erik.

Proper noun

Eirik m (definite Eiriken)

1. a male given name from Old Norse, feminine equivalent Eirika, equivalent to English Eric

Usage notes

In dialects which do have definite forms of given names, the definite form of Eirik is Eiriken, whence also Gåmålerken (“Devil”). In some other dialects, while speaking about a concrete person named Eirik, pronoun han is added: han Eirik.

Patronymics:

• son of Eirik: Eiriksson
• daughter of Eirik: Eiriksdotter

Related terms

• (surnames) Eriksen
• Gamal-Eirik (“the devil”)

References

• Eivind Vågslid (1988) Norderlendske fyrenamn (in Norwegian Nynorsk), →ISBN, page 88
• Kristoffer Kruken, Ola Stemshaug (1995) Norsk personnamnleksikon, Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, →ISBN
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 14,034 males with the given name Eirik living in Norway on January 1st 2022, with the frequency peak in the 1990s. Accessed on 5 January, 2022.