Show ContentsErich History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of England produced the name of Erich. It was given to a person who held or occupied land inherited by an ancestor instead of acquiring it by means of the Feudal System. The surname Erich is derived from the Old English word heritage, which in turn comes from the Old French words eritage and heritage. These words are derived from the Late Latin word heritagium, which comes from the word heres, which means heir.

Early Origins of the Erich family

The surname Erich was first found in Oxfordshire, where they held a family seat from very early times.

Early History of the Erich family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Erich research. Another 63 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1519 and 1558 are included under the topic Early Erich History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Erich Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Erich has appeared include Herytage, Heritage, Eritage, Erytage and others.

Early Notables of the Erich family

More information is included under the topic Early Erich Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Erich migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Erich arrived in North America very early:

Erich Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Erich, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749 1
  • Conrad Erich, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1751 1
  • Ludwig Erich, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 1
  • Johan Conrad Erich, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1766 1
Erich Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George Erich, who arrived in New York in 1804 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Erich (post 1700) +

  • Timothy R. Erich, American politician, Representative from California 3rd District, 1996; Reform Candidate for U.S. Senator from California, 1998
  • George F. Erich, American politician, Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1940-44
  • Arthur Erich Haas (1884-1941), Austrian physicist, known for his paper on the treatment of the hydrogen atom involving quantization of electronic orbitals, three years before the Bohr model in 1913
  • Ernst Erich Dinkelmann (1927-2010), South African rugby union player
  • Brigadier Thomas Erich Snow (1905-1996), Canadian Commanding Officer 11th Canadian Brigade, Italy 2
  • Brigadier Rolsa Erich Smythe, Canadian Deputy Quartermaster-General "C", National Defence Headquarters 3
  • Hans Erich Kentzler (b. 1899), chemist and business executive working in the Philippines
  • Otto Erich Deutsch (1883-1967), distinguished music historian and critic who specialized in Schubert and Haydn
  • Alfred Erich Senn (b. 1932), American professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Erich Stephen Gruen (b. 1935), American classicist and ancient historian


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  2. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Thomas Snow. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Snow/Thomas_Erich/Canada.html
  3. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Rolsa Smythe. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Smythe/Rolsa_Erich/Canada.html


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