The given name Eric is derived 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". 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". The name is thus usually taken to mean "one ruler" or "eternal ruler" or "ever powerful," etc.

The most common spelling in Scandinavia is Erik. In Norway, another form of the name (which has kept the Old Norse diphthong) Eirik is also commonly used. In Finland, the form Erkki is also used. The modern Icelandic version is Eiríkur, while the modern Faroese version is Eirikur. Éric is used in French, and in Germany Eric, Erik and Erich are used.

Although the name was in use in Anglo-Saxon Britain, its use was reinforced by Scandinavian settlers arriving before the Norman Invasion. It was an uncommon name in England until the Middle Ages, when it gained popularity, and finally became a common name in the 19th century. This was partly because of the publishing of the novel Eric, or, Little by Little by Frederick William Farrer in 1858.

Erik Spoelstra (born November 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and the current head coach of the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat. He is the first Filipino-American head coach in the NBA, as well as the first Filipino-American head coach of any North American professional sports team. From 2001 to 2008, he served as assistant coach/director of scouting for the team. He coached the Heat to 148 wins and three playoff appearances, including a trip to the 2011 NBA Finals, in his first three seasons.

He is the son of Dutch-Irish-American Jon Spoelstra, who was an NBA executive for the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Buffalo Braves and New Jersey Nets, and the grandson of the late Watson Spoelstra, a sportswriter in the Detroit area. His mother, Elisa Celino, is from San Pablo, Laguna in the Philippines.

Spoelstra grew up in Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from Jesuit High School in 1988 and from the University of Portland in 1992.

At the University of Portland, Spoelstra was the Pilots' starting point guard for four years, averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game, and was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. He is a member of Portland's 1,000-point club. Spoelstra was on the court as Hank Gathers collapsed and died during the 1990 WCC Tournament.

Éric Alfred Leslie Satie (pronounced: [eʁik sati]) (17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925; signed his name Erik Satie after 1884) was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd.

An eccentric, Satie was introduced as a "gymnopedist" in 1887, shortly before writing his most famous compositions, the Gymnopédies. Later, he also referred to himself as a "phonometrician" (meaning "someone who measures sounds") preferring this designation to that of a "musician", after having been called "a clumsy but subtle technician" in a book on contemporary French composers published in 1911.

In addition to his body of music, Satie also left a remarkable set of writings, having contributed work for a range of publications, from the dadaist 391 to the American culture chronicle Vanity Fair. Although in later life he prided himself on always publishing his work under his own name, in the late nineteenth century he appears to have used pseudonyms such as Virginie Lebeau and François de Paule in some of his published writings.

Rhoderick Ramos Santos (born October 10, 1982), more commonly known as simply Erik Santos, is a Filipino singer, actor, TV host, commercial model, and the winner of the ABS-CBN program Star In A Million Season 1 in January 2004.

Santos was born on October 10, 1982 in Malabon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. When he was four, his passion for singing started. He participated in numerous small-town singing competitions. He graduated in high school at Immaculate Conception Parochial School - Malabon He studied at the Centro Escolar University and took up dentistry, but later shifted to Psychology. As soon as he won the singing competition Star in a Million in 2003, he temporarily stopped studying, because of his busy schedule. Eventually, he came back to school and finished college. He graduated in March 2010.

In 2003, Santos joined Star In A Million singing contest, and became part of the wildcard entry to the Final 10 of the show. He had a good start in the competition, but got eliminated during the third week of the show, when it was still a part of the Sunday noontime variety show ASAP. Nevertheless, his second chance came, and his rendition of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly", won him the tenth and final slot for the semi-finals round. Eventually he became one of the three grand finalists along with Sheryn Regis (first runner up) and Marinel Santos (2nd runner up) in the showdown for the title of Star in a Million. "This is the Moment", a song from the musical Jekyll and Hyde, popularized by Martin Nievera, won him the title.

Erik van den Boom (born 4 August 1997), known as Erik Arbores is a Dutch producer, composer and remixer. He primarily produces house music and pop music, but also soundtracks and hiphop. He himself states that he wants to produce music that is energetic, no matter what genre.

His first EP was released on ZOUK Recordings (a sublabel of Armada Music) on 12 September 2011. It is titled Take It E.P. and consists of the tracks Take It, Bliss and Transit. The EP is published by Universal Music Publishing and Cloud 9 Music.

Erik Arbores was born on 4 August 1997 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, currently he lives in Schiedam. After having skipped four grade levels in total he passed his high school exams at the age of 13 (in the Dutch school system, this would normally happen at the age of 18). Therefore he gained a lot of media attention, including the popular Dutch TV Show De Wereld Draait Door. The previous worldwide number 1 DJ Armin van Buuren described him in this show as very talented. Erik is now studying applied physics at Delft University of Technology.