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Help[Opinions] Greetings from an Erica! (ETA)
in reply to a message by Felie
Hi, my name is Erica! I was born in '91, which was right around the time the name began to decline in popularity in the United States (it enjoyed its heyday in the 80s). I knew a couple Ericas in school, as well as girls named Erika, which was slightly less common overall but seems to have followed the same popularity trend.
As far as living with the name, it wasn't always easy, especially if you don't have charisma. I was a nerd as a child and pre-adolescent (which was before being nerdy became... cool?), and an easy target for teasing / bullying. Calling me "Eric" all the time was one of the milder things my classmates did to me. Additionally, in my experience, all the Ericas (including me) constantly had their names misspelled as Erika growing up, and all the Erikas had theirs misspelled as Erica. (And then we have Ericka, Arica, and other assorted spellings, which just leave you scratching your head, wondering why their parents were being so difficult.)
I only learned a few years ago that "erica" was the Latin word for the heather flower (and, it appears, the current Italian word). Whenever I had looked up my name origin prior to that, I always found the Norse etymology (which would be the only etymology for Erika).
As for Heather, that's another very 70s and 80s name in the United States, and was more popular than Erica (and experienced a sharper decline; today, both Erica and Erika are more popular). The name Heather is consequently quite dated here. I like its soft sound, but have to admit the only Heather I met in school was a total b*tch to me, so it soured my perception of the name.
Edit: I looked back at the OP and noticed that you described Erika (specifically this spelling) as being trendy in Italy. This surprises me, considering that I didn't believe the letter K was used in the Italian language. Was I mistaken?
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/91835
http://greens-end.myminicity.com/
As far as living with the name, it wasn't always easy, especially if you don't have charisma. I was a nerd as a child and pre-adolescent (which was before being nerdy became... cool?), and an easy target for teasing / bullying. Calling me "Eric" all the time was one of the milder things my classmates did to me. Additionally, in my experience, all the Ericas (including me) constantly had their names misspelled as Erika growing up, and all the Erikas had theirs misspelled as Erica. (And then we have Ericka, Arica, and other assorted spellings, which just leave you scratching your head, wondering why their parents were being so difficult.)
I only learned a few years ago that "erica" was the Latin word for the heather flower (and, it appears, the current Italian word). Whenever I had looked up my name origin prior to that, I always found the Norse etymology (which would be the only etymology for Erika).
As for Heather, that's another very 70s and 80s name in the United States, and was more popular than Erica (and experienced a sharper decline; today, both Erica and Erika are more popular). The name Heather is consequently quite dated here. I like its soft sound, but have to admit the only Heather I met in school was a total b*tch to me, so it soured my perception of the name.
Edit: I looked back at the OP and noticed that you described Erika (specifically this spelling) as being trendy in Italy. This surprises me, considering that I didn't believe the letter K was used in the Italian language. Was I mistaken?
Please rate my personal name lists:
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/109399
www.behindthename.com/pnl/69381/91835
http://greens-end.myminicity.com/
This message was edited 10/12/2017, 1:00 PM
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