The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*perḱ-“colored”
- Proto-Celtic · derived from*ɸerkos“perch”
- Old Irish · derived fromErc
- English todayErc
From Old Irish Erc (modern Irish Earc), a word for which the electronic Dictionary of the Irish language gives several meanings, but the most likely meaning for the name is "spotted, speckled, motley," from Proto-Celtic *ɸerkos (“perch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“colored”).
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*perḱ- all →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.