Eric the Red

[keannu]

In the year 984, a band of Vikings led by Eric the Red sailed west from Iceland to a large island in the North Atlantic...

Is "Eric the Red" a combination of a person's name and his nickname?

 

[Mrfatso]

Not A Teacher

It was not his birth name that was Eric Thorvaldsen in which the last part is a patronymic name, his Father was Thorvald and sen means son in Norse.
"The Red" is a nickname or byname given to him many historians believe he had red hair.

 

[Rover_KE]

It was not his birth name—that was "Eric Thorvaldsen", in which the last part is a patronymic name. His father was Thorvald and "sen" means "son" in Norse.
"The Red" is a nickname or byname given to him by many historians who believed he had red hair.

keannu, did you consider googling 'Eric the Red'? You'd have found this page.
`

 

[Raymott]

I'd say the nickname is "Eric the Red", not "The Red", even if Eric is his real first name - unless he is actually called "The Red". The same for Alexander the Great, Ivan the Terrible, etc.
Vlad the Impaler may have been called "The Impaler", so that would be different.
There must be more formal terms than 'nickname' for this sort of construction.

 

[Rover_KE]

There must be more formal terms than 'nickname' for this sort of construction.

Mrfatso used the word byname, which I confess I'd never heard before, but which might be considered appropriate in this context.

Or sobriquet.

 

[Eckaslike]

I have in my mind, when used in this context in historical writing, they are usually just called "appellations". However, I'm sure "sobriquets", or "bynames", would also be used to break up the monotony.

Ivan III: "Ivan The Great"
"It may be that the excessive cautiousness of his character, the lack of élan and glamour, and the very dullness of the man have prevented historians from universally recognizing the appellation of “the Great,” first attributed to him by the Austrian ambassador to his son’s court."
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-III

Vlad III, Vlad III Dracula, "Vlad the Impaler"
"It often has been thought that Stoker based the title character of Dracula on Vlad. Though Stoker’s notes for the novel do include mentions of “Dracula,” the historical account from which the notes were taken mentions only the appellation, not the deeds for which its bearer was known. Some scholars have speculated that Stoker’s conversations with a noted historian, Hermann Bamburger, may have provided him with information on Vlad’s violent nature, though there is no concrete evidence to support that theory."
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Vlad-III

Diophantus "of Alexandria",
(flourished c. AD 250), Greek mathematician, famous for his work in algebra. What little is known of Diophantus’s life is circumstantial. From the appellation “of Alexandria” it seems that he worked in the main scientific centre of the ancient Greek world; and because he is not mentioned before the 4th century, it seems likely that he flourished during the 3rd century.
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Diophantus-of-Alexandria

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Byname" is also referred to as "nickname".