Erlić families are Croats and they are mostly from Benkovac. In the past century, relatively most of Croatian residents bearing this family name were born in Benkovac and Zadar. In Tinj in Benkovac every fifth inhabitant had the family name Erlić.
Prevalence
About 230 people with faimily name Erlić live in Croatia today, in 70 households. There were 80 of them in the middle of the past century, and their number tripled. They are located in 7 Croatian counties, in 13 cities and 14 other places, mostly in Polaca in Benkovac area (60), Tinj (55), Zadar (40), Rijeka (25), and in Biograd na moru (20).
In the sources analysed in the project Acta Croatica so far, the name is mentioned over twenty times, the first time 1664 in source Catholic Church Parish Records.