Alaric is a Germanic name which means "everybody's ruler". This has various forms in the several Germanic languages, such as Alrekr in Old Norse. Alaric is the form used in modern English, an adaptation of the Latinization of the Gothic.

The form Alaric may refer to:

• Alaric I, king of the Visigoths, sacked Rome.

'Alaric I'(ăl`ərĭk) lived around 370–410 and was a Visigothic king. It is thought his tribe migrated ahead of the Huns into Roman lands when he was aged 11. He later headed the Visigothic troops serving Emperor Theodosius I. After the emperor's death (395) the troops rebelled and chose Alaric as their leader. The Visigoths were one of the most important groups of Germans tribes of the time. Having settled in the region west of the Black Sea in the 3rd century AD, the Goths soon split into two divisions, the Ostrogoths (East Goths) and the Visigoths (West Goths).

By the 4th century, Alaric had devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece. Stopped, but not defeated, by Stilicho. He was the chief general of Theodosius I , whose niece he married. In 401 he invaded Italy, where after some indecisive warfare, he agreed to withdraw. Stilicho persuaded (407) the Romans to buy Alaric's alliance, but shortly afterward Emperor Honorius Honorius, 384–423, Roman emperor of the West (395–423). On the death (395) of Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided; Arcadius , the elder son, received the East, and Honorius, the younger son, received the West. This division proved to be a permanent one. The general Stilicho , as guardian of Honorius, at first controlled the government of the West and defended the empire against the Visigoths.

Alaric again invaded (408) Italy and laid seige to Rome. Raising the seige after an agreement with the Roman senate, Alaric again turned on Rome (409) and forced the city to accept a puppet emperor, Attalus, whom he himself deposed the next year for disregarding his advice. After the failure of renewed negotiations with Honorius (who all the while held out at Ravenna) Alaric stormed and sacked Rome (410) and then marched south to attack Sicily and Africa. His sacking of Rome did not include the mass destruction of Rome - a city he much admired. He wished for fair treatment and good quality land for his tribe promised earlier by the Romans. A storm later destroyed his fleet, and Alaric, having turned back, died of an illness. His brother Ataulf was elected his successor. It is said that Alaric was buried with his treasures near Cosenza in the bed of the Busento River, which was temporarily diverted from its course. That the secret of his burial place might be kept, the slaves employed in the labor were killed.

• Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths in Hispania (Spain and Portugal) and Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Narbonensis (Southern France)
• The merchant ship Alaric

Alaric