Arthur

Celtic
" bear"

Arthur Origin and Meaning

The name Arthur is a boy's name of Celtic origin meaning " bear".

Arthur, once the shining head of the Knights of the Round Table, is, after decades of neglect, now being polished up and restored by stylish parents, inspired perhaps by the new generation of royals. Arthur has led the list of possible names for the young British princes, chosen as a middle name for Prince Louis, son of William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales.

In addition to its leading role in the Arthurian legends, Arthurs figure prominently in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and George Eliot's Adam Bede. There are also countless Arthurs in children's literature, movies, and TV -- including The Fonz of Happy Days fame. More recently, Arthur was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Santa in the eponymous movie Arthur Christmas.

Arthur has many notable namesakes, including playwright Arthur Miller; writer/astronomer Arthur C. Clarke; writers Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Rimbaud and Arthur Koestler; philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer; conductor Arthur Fiedler; and tennis great Arthur Ashe, the first African American to win the U.S. Open. Queen Victoria's seventh child was Prince Arthur.

Arthur was a Top 20 name from at least 1880 through 1926. And in 2011, actress Selma Blair named her son Arthur Saint.

# 128 in the US

Arthur Rank in US Top 1000

# 22 on Nameberry

Arthur Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Arthur Popularity

Famous People Named Arthur

  • Arthur I
    Duke of Brittany, claimant to the English throne
  • Arthur Tudor
    Prince of Wales, elder brother of King Henry VIII of England, one,time heir apparent
  • Arthur Wellesley
    1st Duke of Wellington, Anglo,Irish field marshal and British Prime Minister,
  • Arthur Wellesley
    2nd,5th Dukes of Wellington
  • Arthur William Patrick Albert
    Prince of the UK; Duke of Connaught and Strathairn; Governor,General of Canada; son of Queen Victoria
  • Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert
    Prince of Connaught; Governor,General of South Africa; grandson of Queen Victoria
  • Arthur Conan Doyle
    Scottish physician and novelist
  • Arthur Nixon
    brother of U.S. President Richard Nixon
  • Arthur Robert Ashe
    American tennis player
  • (Jean Nicolas) Arthur Rimbaud
    French poet
  • Arthur Schopenhauer
    German philosopher
  • Arthur Rackham
    English book illustrator
  • Arthur John Evans
    English archaeologist
  • (Thomas) Arthur Darvill
    English actor
  • Arthur Asher Miller
    American playwright
  • Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter
    Canadian,American TV presenter
  • Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel
    American singer of duo Simon & Garfunkel
  • Arthur Rubinstein
    Polish,American pianist
  • Arthur Wontner
    English actor
  • Arthur Gordon Webster
    founder of the American Physical Society
  • Arthur Robert Morris
    Australian cricketer
  • Arthur Lewis Watkins Sifton
    Canadian politician, 2nd Premier of Alberta
  • Arthur Ernest Percival
    English Army general
  • Arthur Edward Robert Gilligan
    English cricketer
  • Arthur Webb Mold
    English cricketer
  • Arthur William Radford
    American Navy admiral
  • Arthur Joseph "Monkey" Gould
    Welsh rugby union player
  • Arthur Kelly
    English actor
  • Gerard Arthur Way
    American musician of band My Chemical Romance
  • Arthur Cave (b. 2000)
    late son of singer Nick Cave; twin brother Earl
  • Arthur Clutterbuck (b. 2010)
    son of actor Andrew Lincoln
  • Arthur Amidon (b. 2011)
    son of singers Sam Amidon and Beth Orton
  • Arthur Saint Bleick (b. 2011)
    son of actress Selma Blair
  • Arthur Elliot (b. 2012)
    son of Ben Elliot and Mary,Clare Winwood; great,nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall; grandson of musician Steve Winwood
  • Arthur Michael William Matthews (b. 2018)
    son of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews; nephew of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge
  • Arthur "Bryce" Courtenay
    novelist

Arthur in Pop Culture

  • Arthur Pendragon
    legendary King of England
  • Arthur Read
    aardvark main character of the Arthur book and TV series
  • Arthur “Boo” Radley
    character in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
  • Arthur Fonzarelli
    aka The Fonz, character on TV's ‘Happy Days’
  • Arthur Weasley
    character in the ‘Harry Potter’ series
  • Arthur
    character in the 2010 American movie ‘Inception’
  • Uncle Arthur
    character on the television show ‘Bewitched’
  • Arthur “Art” Bell
    character on TV's ‘Orphan Black’
  • Arthur Clennam
    character in ‘Little Dorrit’, written by Charles Dickens
  • Arthur Koblenz Dallas
    character in ‘Alien’
  • Arthur Dimmesdale
    fictional character in ‘The Scarlet Letter’
  • Arthur Donnithorne
    fictional character in George Eliot’s ‘Adam Bede’
  • Arthur “Art” Douglas
    aka Drax the Destroyer, character in Marvel Comics
  • Arthur Dent
    character in Douglas Adams’ book ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
  • Arthur Goring
    character in Oscar Wilde’s ‘An Ideal Husband’
  • Arthur Hackett
    character on the American television show ‘Pretty Little Liars’
  • Arthur Kirkland
    personification of the United Kingdom in the manga and anime series ‘Axis Powers: Hetalia’
  • Arthur Leander
    character in the novel ‘Station Eleven’
  • Arthur Mitchell aka the Trinity Killer
    character in the American television show ‘Dexter’
  • Arthur “Artie” Nielsen
    fictional character in the American television series ‘Warehouse 13’
  • Arthur Poe
    character in ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’
  • Arthur Saltweather
    character in the Jenny Nimmo’s ‘The Children of the Red King’ series
  • Arthur Spiderwick
    character in ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’
  • Arthur Eugene Spooner
    character on TV's ‘The King of Queens’
  • Arthur Curry aka Orin and Aquaman
    character in DC Universe
  • Arthur Reeves
    character in DC Comics
  • Arthur Hastings
    character in "We Happy Few"
  • Arthur Morgan
    fictional character in ‘Red Dead Redemption II’
  • Arthur
    character from the video game "Fire Emblem Fates"
  • Arthur Hoggett
    character in book/film 'Babe'
  • Arthur the bartender
    character in the Comic strip "The Lockhorns"
  • Arthur Jeffries
    character on "Young Sheldon" a scientist who plays the title character of Professor Proton, Sheldon's favorite educational television series. Newhart reprises his portrayal of the character from The Big Bang Theory.
  • Arthur Fleck aka The Joker
    main character in the 2019 film "Joker" '
  • Arthur Huntingdon
    character in "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë