Jerk is a Swedish variant of Eric. The name Eric has its origins in both Germanic as well as Old Norse languages. In Germanic, it is believed to be derived from the word 'reich', which means king. In Old Norse, it is a variant of the names 'Eirikr and Eyrekr'. These names are made up of two parts, 'ei', meaning 'always' and 'einn', meaning 'only'. 'Eric' means that 'he will always be a king'.