Head to head · Boys' names
Erick vs Onyx
#366 vs #365 in 2025
Onyx is a whisker ahead (#365 vs #366 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Onyx is climbing the charts fast, 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 Onyx 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, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1890s: Erick #878, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1900s: Erick #951, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1910s: Erick #1651, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1920s: Erick #1836, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1930s: Erick #1931, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1940s: Erick #1086, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1950s: Erick #785, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1960s: Erick #465, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1970s: Erick #278, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1980s: Erick #251, Onyx — — Erick higher
- 1990s: Erick #201, Onyx #5665 — Erick higher
- 2000s: Erick #182, Onyx #3722 — Erick higher
- 2010s: Erick #251, Onyx #1498 — Erick higher
- 2020s: Erick #323, Onyx #400 — Erick higher
Erick stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Erick | Onyx |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #835 | — |
| 1890s | #878 | — |
| 1900s | #951 | — |
| 1910s | #1651 | — |
| 1920s | #1836 | — |
| 1930s | #1931 | — |
| 1940s | #1086 | — |
| 1950s | #785 | — |
| 1960s | #465 | — |
| 1970s | #278 | — |
| 1980s | #251 | — |
| 1990s | #201 | #5665 |
| 2000s | #182 | #3722 |
| 2010s | #251 | #1498 |
| 2020s | #323 | #400 |
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.
Onyx
Claw or fingernail — by way of the banded stone
The Greek ónyx meant nail or claw; the veined stone took the word because its layers resembled a fingernail. In modern use the name reads simply as the gemstone, most familiar in its black form.
ónyx (Greek) → onyx (Latin) → onyx (English, the stone) → Onyx (given name)
How it traveled
The word begins in ancient Greek as ónyx, nail or claw, and became the name of a banded chalcedony whose pale layers looked like a fingernail. Latin took it unchanged, and English translations of the Hebrew Bible put it among the precious things of Genesis and the stones set into the high priest's breastplate, which kept it in circulation for centuries as a word people read aloud.
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.
Onyx
ON-iks
Stress on the first syllable, the x sounded as -ks. The pronunciation is fixed by the ordinary English word, so it rarely needs repeating.
- Nyx — Informal clipping; also used on its own as a given name, after the Greek goddess of night.
- Nix — Informal, phonetic version of the same clipping.
- O — Family-and-friends level, the way any O name gets reduced to its initial.
- Ony — Informal, mostly used by adults to a young child.
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 past its most crowded yearsErick is stepping back from its peak
Choose Onyx if you want…
- a name on the way upup 247 places on the charts in five years
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.
Onyx
Strengths
- Everyone already knows the word, so the pronunciation almost never needs explaining.
- Two clean syllables that sit easily against most surnames and don't blur into the name beside them.
- Spelled and said much the same in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German.
To consider
- The spelling has rivals. Ónix, Onix and Onex all exist in the wild, and one of them belongs to a widely known video-game creature, so expect to spell it out on forms for life.
- It leans male in American records, with a real minority of girls. A girl named Onyx will meet the occasional wrong assumption before people see her.
- This is a very young name, so most people carrying it are children. An adult Onyx is still an unusual thing, and a child will likely be the only one in the school.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Erick
40%chance Erick feels dated by 2040
Erick sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Onyx
55%chance Onyx feels dated by 2040
Onyx is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Onyx 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 Onyx?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
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
- Names with an X in them
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- Gemstone names: small treasures
- all guides
Where Erick and Onyx each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Erick or Onyx — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Erick or Onyx?
- Onyx, in 2025: Onyx ranked #365 with 881 babies; Erick ranked #366 with 879 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Erick or Onyx?
- Onyx. Over the last five years Erick moved down 68 places; Onyx moved up 247 places.
- Which is the older name, Erick or Onyx?
- Erick entered the US charts in 1883; Onyx entered the US charts in 1990. On the American record, Erick is the older name.
- How many people are named Erick and Onyx?
- About 76,000 people named Erick are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 6,800 people named Onyx are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Ericks or Onyxs in the classroom?
- Erick will almost certainly be the only one in school. Onyx 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Erick, Onyx and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap