Variant of Erland, from Old Norse meaning foreigner or stranger from another land.
Erlin is a name with roots reaching into the Old Norse naming world, most plausibly derived from or closely related to Erling — a Scandinavian masculine name meaning "descendant of a jarl" or "chieftain's son," from the Old Norse "jarl" (earl, nobleman) combined with the suffix "-ingr" (son of, descendant of). In the medieval Norse world, the Erlings were a powerful clan: Erling Skjalgsson was one of the most powerful chieftains in Norway in the late Viking Age, a contemporary and rival of Saint Olaf, and his story is preserved in multiple sagas. The name carried the freight of aristocratic lineage and warrior dignity.
In Scandinavian countries, particularly Norway, Erling has maintained continuous use from the Viking Age to the present — the Norwegian football manager Erling Haaland's father, Alfie Haaland, is a well-known bearer of the related form. Erlin, the trimmed two-syllable form, appears as a variant in Scandinavian naming and also surfaces independently in parts of Central America (particularly Honduras and El Salvador), where Spanish-language naming traditions borrowed and adapted European names into new local forms during the colonial and post-colonial period, creating distinctly Latin American versions with separate cultural identities. The name's quality is one of quiet compressed power — two syllables that carry an open vowel ending, giving it a lightness that the harder-edged Erling lacks.
In contemporary usage, Erlin appeals as a name that honors Nordic heritage in a form modern parents find more accessible. It sits comfortably in that growing category of Scandinavian-derived names — alongside Soren, Leif, and Bjorn — that offer distinctiveness with deep historical roots.