* Eric Nelson (musician) (active 2000s-), American choral conductor, clinician, and composer
* Eric Nelson (diplomat) (active 1990s-), American diplomat, Ambassador of the United States to Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Eric Nelson (historian) (born 1977), American historian and professor of government at Harvard University
* Eric Nelson (West Virginia politician) (born 1960), American state legislator in West Virginia
* Eric Nelson (Pennsylvania politician) (born 1968), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
* Ricky Nelson (Eric Hilliard Nelson, 1940–1985), American actor, musician and singer-songwriter
* Eric Nelson (active 2021), American defense attorney who represented Derek Chauvin in ''State v. Chauvin''
