Erika (given name)

Pronunciation	Eh-rik-AH or Eh-RI-kah
Gender	Female
Word/name	Old Norse
Meaning	"sole ruler", "eternal ruler", "ever powerful"
Related names	Eric, Erik

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, alone, unique", as in the form Æinrikr explicitly, or from *aiwa(z) "long time, eternity". The second element -ríkr stems either from *ríks "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic reiks) or from the therefrom derived *ríkijaz "kingly, powerful, rich". The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, " or "eternal ruler, ever powerful".

It is a common name in many Western societies. It is also a popular given name for women in Japan (even though its origin 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".

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