Head to head · Boys' names
Erick vs Ezequiel
#366 vs #348 in 2025
Ezequiel is a whisker ahead (#348 vs #366 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ezequiel is holding its place on the charts, Erick is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Erick and Ezequiel each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Erick #835, Ezequiel — — Erick higher
- 1890s: Erick #878, Ezequiel — — Erick higher
- 1900s: Erick #951, Ezequiel — — Erick higher
- 1910s: Erick #1651, Ezequiel #2776 — Erick higher
- 1920s: Erick #1836, Ezequiel #2156 — Erick higher
- 1930s: Erick #1931, Ezequiel #2105 — Erick higher
- 1940s: Erick #1086, Ezequiel #1775 — Erick higher
- 1950s: Erick #785, Ezequiel #1708 — Erick higher
- 1960s: Erick #465, Ezequiel #1516 — Erick higher
- 1970s: Erick #278, Ezequiel #1122 — Erick higher
- 1980s: Erick #251, Ezequiel #944 — Erick higher
- 1990s: Erick #201, Ezequiel #667 — Erick higher
- 2000s: Erick #182, Ezequiel #557 — Erick higher
- 2010s: Erick #251, Ezequiel #514 — Erick higher
- 2020s: Erick #323, Ezequiel #342 — Erick higher
Erick stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Erick | Ezequiel |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #835 | — |
| 1890s | #878 | — |
| 1900s | #951 | — |
| 1910s | #1651 | #2776 |
| 1920s | #1836 | #2156 |
| 1930s | #1931 | #2105 |
| 1940s | #1086 | #1775 |
| 1950s | #785 | #1708 |
| 1960s | #465 | #1516 |
| 1970s | #278 | #1122 |
| 1980s | #251 | #944 |
| 1990s | #201 | #667 |
| 2000s | #182 | #557 |
| 2010s | #251 | #514 |
| 2020s | #323 | #342 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Erick
'ever-ruler' or 'sole ruler', from Old Norse
The second element, ríkr, means 'ruler' or 'mighty' and is not in doubt. The first is: read as Old Norse ei- it means 'ever, always', giving 'eternal ruler'; read from the older Germanic element for 'one, alone' it gives 'sole ruler'. Both readings are taken seriously by name scholars.
Eiríkr → Erik → Eric → Erick
How it traveled
The name begins as Eiríkr in Old Norse and belongs to the world of Scandinavian kings and settlers, worn by rulers of Sweden and Denmark through the Middle Ages. Danish and Norwegian settlement carried it into England, where it thinned out for centuries before returning in Victorian Britain — helped along by F.
Ezequiel
God strengthens
From Hebrew Yeḥezqel, combining the verb ḥazaq, 'to be strong', with El, 'God'. Sometimes rendered 'God will strengthen'.
Yeḥezqel → Iezekiēl → Ezechiel → Ezequiel
How it traveled
The name belongs first to the prophet Ezekiel, a priest deported to Babylon in the sixth century BCE, whose book sits among the major prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Greek translators wrote it Iezekiēl, Latin turned that into Ezechiel, and Spanish reshaped the ending sound with qu to give Ezequiel.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Erick
ERR-ik
Two syllables, stress on the first. The ck changes nothing about the sound — Erick, Eric and Erik are all said the same way, in English and in Spanish alike.
- Rick — The long-standing informal short form; also stands on its own as a given name.
- Ricky — Warmer and more childhood-leaning than Rick; independently used as a full name too.
- E — Initial-only nickname, common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Rico — Used in Spanish-speaking families and friend groups; also a given name in its own right.
Ezequiel
eh-seh-KYEL
That is the Spanish pronunciation, stress on the last syllable; in Spain the z is a soft th, eh-theh-KYEL. English speakers who meet the written name often say eh-zeh-KEE-el, matching Ezekiel. Both are in real use, and the family usually sets which one sticks.
- Eze — The standard informal short form among Spanish speakers, especially in Argentina; used by friends and family rather than on paper.
- Zeke — The English-language short form, shared with Ezekiel; occasionally registered as a given name on its own.
- Ez — A clipped English form that turns up in school and workplace settings.
- Quiel — Heard occasionally in Spanish-speaking households, taking the back half of the name instead of the front.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Erick if you want…
- a name fewer children share#366 in 2025 — erick will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsErick is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesErick is 2 syllables to Ezequiel's 3
Choose Ezequiel if you want…
- a name most people already know#348 in 2025, 943 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 13 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itEzequiel runs 3 syllables, Erick 2
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Erick
Strengths
- Says itself on sight: no silent letters, no regional variation, and the same pronunciation whether the reader's first language is English or Spanish.
- Ready-made short forms with long histories of their own — Rick, Ricky, Rico — none of which need explaining.
- A documented line back to Old Norse and to medieval Scandinavian kings, unbroken through English use.
To consider
- Eric is the dominant English spelling, so Erick will be spelled back at him wrong fairly often. A lifetime of "Erick with a ck" is the realistic cost, and it is a short sentence to say.
- Four spellings share the sound — Eric, Erik, Erick, Erich — which means search results, class lists and email addresses can blur together.
- It is stepping back from a recent high point, so it reads as a name of the last few decades rather than an antique revival. In practice he is unlikely to share it with anyone in his grade.
Ezequiel
Strengths
- Works in Spanish, Portuguese and English without respelling — the same letters serve in all three.
- A documented record stretching back to a sixth-century-BCE biblical prophet, and continuous use in Spanish ever since.
- Two well-established short forms already in circulation: Eze in Spanish, Zeke in English.
To consider
- The qu will be typed as a k by people who know Ezekiel first, and the two spellings will be confused for life. A quick correction handles it, but it will be a frequent one.
- Two live pronunciations, Spanish and anglicized, mean he may hear his name said two different ways in the same week — at home one way, at school another.
- Four syllables with the stress at the end is a lot of name for a roll call, which is part of why the short forms do so much work.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Erick and Ezequiel in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Erick and Ezequiel?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names ending in -ck
- Under the radar: quietly excellent picks
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Names with a Z in them
- all guides
Where Erick and Ezequiel each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Erick or Ezequiel — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Erick or Ezequiel?
- Ezequiel, in 2025: Ezequiel ranked #348 with 943 babies; Erick ranked #366 with 879 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Erick or Ezequiel?
- Ezequiel. Over the last five years Erick moved down 68 places; Ezequiel moved up 13 places.
- Which is the older name, Erick or Ezequiel?
- Erick entered the US charts in 1883; Ezequiel entered the US charts in 1912. On the American record, Erick is the older name.
- How many people are named Erick and Ezequiel?
- About 76,000 people named Erick are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 20,000 people named Ezequiel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ericks or Ezequiels in the classroom?
- Erick will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ezequiel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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