Erickson
From Blattman genealogy
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Erickson |
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| Meaning | "Son of Erik" |
| Region of origin | Scandinavia |
| Related names | Eriksen, Eriksson |
| Popularity | Behind the Name |
Erikson is a common Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning "Son of Erik", itself an Old Norse given name. There are other spelling variations of this surname as it's common amongst Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, and Germans. Respelling of a Scandinavian and North German patronymic derived from the Old Norse personal name Eiríkr, which is composed of ei ‘ever’, ‘always’ (or a reduced form of ein ‘one’, ‘only’) + rík ‘power’. The main forms are Erichsen, Eriksen, Ericsson, and Eriksson.
Origins
Recorded in several forms including Eric and the patronymics Ericssen, Erickssen, Ericson, Ericsson, Erickson, Eriksson and others, this is one of the most famous surnames of Scandanavia. It is also one which is widely recorded in Scotland, Iceland and the Faroes, and was arguably the first European name to reach the shores of North America through the exploits of Leif Eriksson, the son of Eric, the Red, who is believed to have landed there in the year 1000. The name Eric derives from an ancient Norse word meaning king, and is probably from the same Germanic root as 'reich', meaning to rule. The majority of Scandanavian surnames are patronymics, although they rarely became hereditary in the manner of German or British surnames until the 18th century. Then not only did the name spellings become 'fixed', but the various governments sought to encourage the creation of new names new ornamental names away from the patronymics such as Andersson or the various forms of Eric + son. They have not been entirely successful in their quest.
People with the surname "Erickson"
- Agda Karolina Erickson (1904-1995)
- Anne Viola Erickson (1907-1985)
- Brita Maria Eriksson (1901-1982)
- John Petrus Eriksson (1897-1938)
- Per Olaf Eriksson (1872-1964)
