Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo.

Etymology

The earliest attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text '' Historia Brittonum'', where it refers to a circa 5th century Romano-British general who fought against the invading Saxons, and who later gave rise to the famous King Arthur of medieval legend and literature. A possible earlier mention of the same man is to be found in the epic Welsh poem '' Y Gododdin'' by Aneirin, which some scholars assign to the late 6th century, though this is still a matter of debate and the poem only survives in a late 13th century manuscript entitled the Book of Aneirin. A 9th-century Breton landowner named Arthur witnessed several charters collected in the '' Cartulary of Redon''. The Irish borrowed the name by the late 6th century (either from an early Archaic Welsh or Cumbric form ''Artur''), producing

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

''Artúr'' ( Latinized as ''Arturius'' by Adomnán in his Life of St. Columba, written circa 697–700), The earliest historically attested bearer of the name is a son or grandson of Áedán mac Gabráin (died 609). The exact origins of the name Arthur remains a matter of debate. Some claim that it derives from the Roman '' nomen gentile'' (family name) Artorius. Artorius itself is of obscure and contested etymology; some have proposed a Messapic or Etruscan origin. Nevertheless, according to etymologist Kemp Malone "the theory that derives Arthur from Artorius is left unsupported by any evidence worthy of the name". According to the linguist and Celticist Stefan Zimmer, it is possible that Artorius has a Celtic origin, being a Latinization of the hypothetical name ''*Artorījos'', derived from the patronym ''*Arto-rīg-ios'', meaning "Son of the Bear/Warrior-King". ''*Arto-rīg-ios'' is unattested, but the root, ''*arto-rīg'', "bear/warrior-king", is the source of the Old Irish personal name ''Artrí'', while the similar ''*Arto-maglos'', "bear-prince", produced names in several Brittonic languages. According to Zimmer's etymology, the Celtic short compositional vowel -o- was lengthened and the long -ī- in the second element of the compound ''-rījos'' was shortened by Latin speakers, under the influence of Latin agent nouns ending in ''-tōr'' (and their derivatives in ''-tōrius''). Some scholars have noted that the legendary King Arthur's name only appears as ''Arthur'', ''Arthurus'', or ''Arturus'' in early Latin Arthurian texts, never as ''Artōrius'' (although the Classical Latin ''Artōrius'' became ''Arturius'' in some Vulgar Latin dialects). However, this may not say anything about the origin of the name ''Arthur'', as ''Artōrius'' would regularly become ''Art(h)ur'' when borrowed into Welsh. The commonly proposed derivation from Welsh ''arth'' "bear" + (g)wr "man" (earlier ''*Arto-uiros'' in Brittonic) is not possible for phonological and orthographic reasons; notably that a Brittonic compound name ''*Arto-uiros'' should produce Old Welsh ''*Artgur'' (where -u- represents the short vowel /u/) and Middle/Modern Welsh ''*Arthwr'' and not ''Arthur'' (where -u- is a long vowel /ʉː/) In Welsh poetry the name is always spelled ''Arthur'' and is exclusively rhymed with words ending in ''-ur''—never words ending in ''-wr''—which confirms that the second element cannot be '' r'' "man"). An alternative theory, which has gained limited acceptance among scholars, derives the name Arthur from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Arcturus (the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near Ursa Major or the Great Bear), which is the latinisation of the Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (''Arktouros'') and means ''Bear Guardian'' from ἄρκτος (''arktos'' ''"bear"'') and οὖρος (''ouros'' ''"watcher/guardian"''). This form, ''Arcturus'' would have become ''Art(h)ur'' when borrowed into Welsh, and its brightness and position in the sky led people to regard it as the "guardian of the bear" and the "leader" of the other stars in Boötes.; .

People and characters with the given name Arthur

Kings and princes

Legendary

* King Arthur, legendary king in Arthurian legend

Brittany

* Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187–1203), claimant to the English throne. Likely killed by his uncle King John * Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (1261–1312) * Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (1393–1458)

Great Britain

* Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486–1502), elder son of Henry VII of England * Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1850–1942), seventh child and third son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

* Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883–1938), son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn

Famous people

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

or Arthur Melo (born 1996), Brazilian footballer * Arthur (footballer, born 2003) (Arthur Augusto de Matos Soares), Brazilian footballer * Arthur (footballer, born 2005) (Arthur Wenderroscky Sanches), Brazilian footballer * Arthur "Man" Agee Jr., American former Chicago-area high school basketball player * Arthur Folasa Ah Loo (died 2025), Samoan fashion designer * Arthur Ahmed (born 1970), Ghanaian politician * Arthur Albiston (born 1957), Scottish footballer * Arthur Alexander (1940–1993), American soul singer and songwriter * Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born 1953), Brazilian footballer, commonly known as Zico * Arthur Ashe (1943–1993), American tennis player * Arthur Askey (1900–1982), English comedian * Artur Awejde (1838–1863), Polish commissioner of Augustów Voivodeship during the January Uprising * Arthur Balfour (1848–1930), earl of Balfour, British politician, and prime minister under Edward VII * Art Baltazar (born 1968), American comic writer and illustrator for DC Super Pets * Arthur Harold Beal (1896–1992), creator of Nitt Witt Ridge * Arthur Berloget, also known as "The Countess", a 19th-century French transgender woman who was a singer, writer, and courtesan * Art Blakey (1919–1990), American jazz drummer and bandleader * Arthur Blok (1882–1974), English first administrative head of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology * Arthur Bluethenthal (1891–1918), American football player * Arthur Blythe (1940–2017), American jazz saxophonist and composer * Arthur Bradfield (1892–1978), English cricketer * Arthur Bramley (1929–2021), English footballer * Arthur Bremer (born 1950), American attempted assassin of George Wallace * Arthur Buck (born 1935), Canadian politician * Art Carney (1918–2003), American actor * Arthur Cayley (1822–1895), British mathematician * Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), British writer * Arthur Compton (1892–1962), American physicist * Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), British writer * Arthur Conley (1946–2003), American soul singer *General Sir Arthur Currie (1875–1933), Canadian Army officer * Arthur Danto (1924–2013), American philosopher and art critic * Arthur Darvill (born 1982), British actor and musician * Arthur Marcelles de Silva (1879–1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala surgeon * Arthur Delaporte (born 1991), French politician * Sir Arthur Eddington (1882–1944), British astrophysicist * Arthur F. Ells (1879–1963), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court * Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941), British archaeologist * Arthur Fenner (1745–1805), fourth Governor of Rhode Island * Arthur Fils (born 2004), French tennis player * Arthur Frommer (born 1929), American travel writer and publisher * Arthur Burdett Frost (1851–1928), American illustrator, graphic artist, painter and comics writer * Arthur J. Gallagher, founder of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. * Art Garfunkel (born 1941), American entertainer * Arthur Gatter (1940–1990), German serial killer * Arthur de Gobineau (1816–1882), French polemicist and political and historical writer * Arthur Godfrey (1903–1983), American radio and television personality * Arthur Goldberg (1908–1990), American politician and judge * A. O. Granger (1846–1914), American industrialist and soldier * Arthur Greiser (1897–1946), German Nazi SS officer executed for war crimes * Arthur Guinness (1725–1803), Irish brewer * Arthur Hailey (1920–2004), British novelist * Arthur Harvey (disambiguation) * Arthur H. Healey (1920–2003), justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court * Arthur Lawrence Hellyer Jr. (1923–2018), American radio host * Art Heyman (1941–2012), American NBA basketball player * Arthur Holden (born 1959), Canadian voice actor * Arthur Holmes (1890–1965), English geologist *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

(1892–1955), Swiss composer * Arthur James Johnes (1809–1871), English judge * Arthur J. Jones (born 1948), American

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

politician * Arthur Kennedy (1914–1990), American actor * Arthur Koestler (1905–1983), British writer * Arthur Kornberg (1918–2007), American biochemist * Arthur Laffer (born 1940), American economist * Arthur Leclerc (born 2000), Monégasque racing driver * Arthur Lee (1945–2006), American musician * Arthur Lethbridge (known as Ivor Moreton) (1908–1984), British singer and pianist * Arthur Liebehenschel (1901–1948), German commandant at the Auschwitz and Majdanek concentration camps executed for war crimes * Art Linkletter (1912–2010), Canadian-born American radio and television personality * Arthur Loveridge (1891–1980), British herpetologist * Arthur Lydiard (1917–2004), New Zealand runner and athletics coach * Arthur MacArthur Jr., (1845–1912), American soldier * Arthur "Harpo" Marx (1888–1964), American comedian and musician * Arthur Marshall (disambiguation), several people * Arthur Meighen (1874–1960), Canadian prime minister in the 1920s * Arthur Miley (born 1993), American football player * Arthur Miller (1915–2005), American playwright * Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844–1881), British poet and herpetologist * Arthur Uther Pendragon (born 1954), British neo-druid leader * Art Potter (1909–1998), Canadian ice hockey administrator * Arthur Prysock (1924–1997), American jazz and R&B singer * Arthur Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan civil servant * Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891), French poet * Arthur Rödl (1898–1945), German Nazi SS commandant of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp * Arthur J. Rosier (1880–1932), American politician * Arthur J. Samberg (1941–2020), American businessman * Arthur Scargill (born 1938), British miners' union leader * Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (1917–2007), American historian * Arthur Moritz Schoenflies (1853–1928), German mathematician * Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), German philosopher * Arthur Seyss-Inquart (1892–1946), Austrian Nazi politician * Arthur "Buddy" Schumacher (1916–1925), boy who was found murdered in 1925 * Art Shamsky (born 1941), American baseball player and manager * Arthur Shawcross (1945–2008), American cannibalistic serial killer and rapist * Arthur Shuttlewood (1920–1996), British ufologist * Arthur Donaldson Smith (1866–1939), American explorer * Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), English composer * Arthur Swift (1810–1855), American politician * Art Tatum (1909–1956), American jazz pianist * Arthur Tracy (1899–1997), American singer and actor * Arthur Treacher (1894–1975), English actor * Arthur Vandenberg (1884–1951), American politician * Arthur Warbrick (1863–1902), New Zealand rugby footballer *Sir Arthur Wellesley (1769–1852), duke of Wellington; military commander who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo; British Prime Minister 1828–1830 and briefly in 1834 * Arthur Wijewardena (1887–1964), Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 1949-1950 * Arthur A. Wilson, Anglo-Indian cinematographer * Arthur Wong (born 1956), Hong Kong Film Awards-winning cinematographer, actor, screenwriter, film producer and director * Arthur Yap (1943–2006), Singaporean poet, writer and painter

Artturi

* Artturi Jämsén (1925–1976), Finnish politician * Artturi Lehkonen (born 1995), Finnish professional ice hockey player * Artturi Leinonen (1888–1963), Finnish journalist and politician * Artturi Ilmari Virtanen (1895–1973), Finnish chemist

Fictional characters

* ''Arthur'', an animated educational television series for children ages 4 to 8, developed by Kathy Waugh for PBS, and produced by WGBH. *Arthur Kirkland (アーサー・カークランド), the given human name for the personification of the United Kingdom from the anime series '' Hetalia: Axis Powers'' *Arthur, a character in 1991 American coming-of-age comedy-drama movie '' My Girl'' *Arthur Birling, an antagonist in the post-war play An Inspector Calls *Arthur Curry, alias of ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'' *Arthur the Tank Engine, a character from

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...

*Ser Arthur Dayne, a character from the ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

'' book series *Arthur Denison, the main character of the '' Dinotopia'' book series * Arthur Dent, the main character of ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...

'' series *Arthur Donaldson, a character in the love triangle sports drama Challengers * Arthur Dupres, a character in the American TV miniseries '' V (1983)'' *Arthur Fleck, the main character in '' Joker (2019 film)'' * Arthur Fowler, a character in soap opera

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

* Arthur Fonzarelli, a character in the American TV sitcom '' Happy Days'' * Arthur Maxson, leader of the Brotherhood of Steel faction in the video game Fallout 4 * Arthur Morgan, the main character of the video game '' Red Dead Redemption 2'' * Arthur Read, the main character in '' Arthur (TV Show)'' *Arthur Seaton, the main character in Alan Sillitoe's debut novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. *Arthur Shelby, a character in ''

Peaky Blinders (TV series) ''Peaky Blinders'' is a British Historical drama, period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, it follows the exploits of the Peaky Blinders crime gang in the direct aftermath of the World War I, First World ...

'' * Arthur Weasley, a character in the '' Harry Potter'' book series *Arthur Wright, a character in the 1997 French-American fantasy drama movie '' FairyTale: A True Story'' *Arthur Watts, a major antagonist in the animated web series ''

RWBY ''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American Anime-influenced animation, animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors ("Huntsmen" and "Huntres ...

'' *Arthur Fox, the late father of Prince Henry in the book '' Red, White & Royal Blue'' and its film adaptation '' Red, White & Royal Blue (film)''

Translations

* Albanian: Artur * Amharic: አርተር *

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: أرثر, ارثور, ارتور * Armenian: (Art'ur) * Azerbaijani: Artur *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

: Artur, Artza * Bengali: আর্থার (Ārthāra) * Breton: Arzhur * Bulgarian: Артур (Artur) * Catalan: Artur, Artús * Chechen: Артур (Artur) * Chinese: ''Simplified:'' 亚瑟 (Yàsè), 阿瑟 (Āsè), 阿图尔 (Ātúěr) ''Traditional:'' 亞瑟 (Yàsè), 阿瑟 (Āsè), 阿圖爾 (Ātúěr) * Croatian: Artur * Czech: Artuš, Artur * Danish: Arthur * Dutch: Arthur, Artuur * Estonian: Artur, Ats * English: Arthur * Finnish: Artturi, Arttu, Arto, Artto * French: Arthur * Galician: Artur, Artús * Georgian: ართური (Arturi) * German: Artur, Arthur * Greek: Αρθούρος (Arthouros/Artouros) * Gujarati: આર્થર (Ārthara) *

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: ארתור (Artur) *

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

: आर्थर (aarthar) * Hungarian: Artúr * Icelandic: Arthur * Indonesian: Arthur * Inuktitut: ᐋᑐᕐ (aatur) * Irish: Artúr * Italian: Arturo (common name), Artù (the Briton king) * Japanese: アーサー (Āsā) (in katakana) *

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

: ಆರ್ಥರ್‌ (Ārthar‌) * Korean: 아서 (Aseo), 아써 (Asseo), 아더 (Adeo) * Kurdish: ئارتەر *

: Arturus/Arthurus, Artorius/Arturius * Latvian: Artūrs * Lithuanian: Artūras *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

: ആർതർ (ārtar) * Maldivian: އަރތަރ * Maltese: Arturu, Turu * Nāhuatl: Arthur * Norman: Èrthu * Norwegian: Artur * Ossetian: Артур (Artur) * Patois: Aata * Persian: آرتور * Polish: Artur * Portuguese: Artur, Arthur (archaic spelling, common in Brazil) * Punjabi: ''Gurmukhi script:'' ਆਰਥਰ (Ārathara), ''Shahmukhi script:'' آرتھر * Romanian: Arthur, Artur * Russian: Артур (Artur) * Serbian: Артур (Artur) * Sinhalese: ආතර් (ātar) * Slovak: Artúr, Artuš * Slovenian: Artur * Spanish: Arturo * Swedish: Artur * Tatar: Artur (Артур) * Thai: อาร์เธอร์ (Xār̒ṭhexr̒) * Turkish: Artur * Ukrainian: Артур (Artur) *

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: آرتھر * Uzbek: Artur * Welsh: Arthur

References