A Scandinavian surname meaning 'son of Eric,' commonly found in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish cultures.
From Old Norse Eiríkr (Eric) + son, where Eric derives from Old Norse ei 'ever, always' + ríkr 'ruler, king.' The patronymic suffix -son literally means 'son of,' creating surnames that identified family lineage.
Scandinavian patronymic surnames like Erickson were traditionally not fixed family names but changed each generation—Eric's son would be Erickson, but his son might be Johnsson if named John. This system was only formalized into permanent surnames during the 19th and 20th centuries as Nordic countries modernized their record-keeping.
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