Meaning, Origin And History Of The Name Arthur

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Arthur NamePopularityRelated NamesRelatedRatingsCommentsNamesakesName Days 77%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage English, French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Cycle Pronounced Pron. /ˈɑɹ.θəɹ/(American English) /ˈɑː.θə/(British English) /aʁ.tyʁ/(French) /ˈaʁ.tʊʁ/(German) /ˈɑr.tyr/(Dutch) [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

The meaning of this name is unknown. It could be derived from the Celtic elements *artos "bear" (Old Welsh arth) combined with *wiros "man" (Old Welsh gur) or *rīxs "king" (Old Welsh ri). Alternatively it could be related to an obscure Roman family name Artorius.Arthur is the name of the central character in Arthurian legend, a 6th-century king of the Britons who resisted Saxon invaders. He may or may not have been based on a real person. He first appears in Welsh poems and chronicles (perhaps briefly in the 7th-century poem Y Gododdin and more definitively and extensively in the 9th-century History of the Britons [1]). However, his character was not developed until the chronicles of the 12th-century Geoffrey of Monmouth [2]. His tales were later taken up and expanded by French and English writers.The name came into general use in England in the Middle Ages due to the prevalence of Arthurian romances, and it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 19th century. Famous bearers include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), mystery author and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008).

Related Names

Family Tree·Details VariantsArtur(German) Artur(Swedish) DiminutivesArt, Artie(English) Tuur(Dutch) Other Languages & CulturesArtur(Albanian) Artur(Armenian) Artur(Belarusian) Artur(Catalan) Artur(Czech) Artur, Ardo(Estonian) Artturi, Arto, Arttu(Finnish) Artur(Galician) Artúr(Hungarian) Arturo(Italian) Artūrs, Arturs(Latvian) Artūras(Lithuanian) Artur(Polish) Artur(Portuguese) Artur(Russian) Artair(Scottish Gaelic) Arturo(Spanish) Artur(Ukrainian) Surname DescendantsArthur, Arthurson(English) Arthur(French) Arthursson(Swedish)

Popularity

Details Last ranked #18 in 2024 Australia (NSW) Last ranked #60 in 2024 Austria Last ranked #2 in 2024 Belgium Last ranked #36 in 2000 Brazil (by decade) Last ranked #40 in 2023 Canada Last ranked #197 in 1997 Czechia Last ranked #14 in 2024 Denmark Last ranked #4 in 2024 England & Wales Last ranked #6 in 2024 France Last ranked #37 in 2022 Germany (Berlin) Last ranked #47 in 2024 Ireland Last ranked #81 in 2025 Netherlands Last ranked #11 in 2025 New Zealand Last ranked #14 in 2023 Northern Ireland Last ranked #83 in 2025 Norway Last ranked #86 in 2017 Portugal Last ranked #10 in 2023 Quebec, Canada Last ranked #24 in 2024 Scotland Last ranked #31 in 2024 Switzerland Last ranked #904 in 1937 (f) #105 in 2024 (m) United States

People think this name is

Rate·Details classic mature formal upper class wholesome strong refined strange simple serious

Name Days

Name Days? Austria: November 1Austria: December 11France: November 15

Images

Depiction of Arthur receiving Excalibur, by N. C. Wyeth (1922)

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Sources & References

Page at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Six_Old_English_Chronicles/Nennius%27s_History_of_the_Britons.
Page at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Six_Old_English_Chronicles/Geoffrey%27s_British_History/Book_9.