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, a common spelling variant used 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.Koch, John T., The Gododdin of Aneirin, University of Wales Press, 1997, pp. xi, xxii, 22, 147, 148. A 9th-century Breton landowner named Arthur witnessed several charters collected in the Cartulary of Redon.de Courson, A. (ed.), Cartulaire de Redon, Paris, 1863, pp. 19, 42, 60, 76, 183.
The Irish borrowed the name by the late 6th century (either from an early Archaic Welsh or Cumbric form Artur), producing Old Irish Artúr (Latinized as Arturius by Adomnán in his Life of St. Columba, written circa 697–700),* Jaski, Bart, Early Irish examples of the name Arthur, Z.C.P. band 56, 2004. The earliest historically attested bearer of the name is a son or grandson of Áedán mac Gabráin (died 609).Adomnán, I, 8–9 and translator's note 81; Bannerman, pp. 82–83. Bannerman, pp. 90–91, notes that Artúr is the son of Conaing, son of Áedán in the Senchus fer n-Alban.
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 MessapicMarcella Chelotti, Vincenza Morizio, Marina Silvestrini, Le epigrafi romane di Canosa, Volume 1, Edipuglia srl, 1990, pg. 261, 264.Ciro Santoro, "Per la nuova iscrizione messapica di Oria", La Zagaglia, A. VII, n. 27, 1965, P. 271-293.Ciro Santoro, La Nuova Epigrafe Messapica "IM 4. 16, I-III" di Ostuni ed nomi in Art-, Ricerche e Studi, Volume 12, 1979, p. 45-60 or Etruscan origin.Wilhelm Schulze, Zur Geschichte lateinischer Eigennamen (Volume 5, Issue 2 of Abhandlungen der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-Historische Klasse, Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften Göttingen Philologisch-Historische Klasse), 2nd Edition, Weidmann, 1966, p. 72, pp. 333–338Olli Salomies: Die römischen Vornamen. Studien zur römischen Namengebung. Helsinki 1987, p. 68Herbig, Gust., "Falisca", Glotta, Band II, Göttingen, 1910, p. 98 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 [g]wr "man").See .See .
An alternative theory, which has gained limited acceptance among scholars,Bromwich, Rachel, Trioedd ynys Prydein: the Welsh triads, University of Wales Press, 1978, p. 544Zimmer, Stefan, Die keltischen Wurzeln der Artussage: mit einer vollständigen Übersetzung der ältesten Artuserzählung Culhwch und Olwen, Winter, 2006, p. 37Zimmer, Stefan, "The Name of Arthur – A New Etymology ", Journal of Celtic Linguistics, Volume 13, Number 1, March 2009, University of Wales Press, pp. 131–136.Walter, Philippe, Faccia M. (trans.), Artù. L'orso e il re, Edizioni Arkeios, 2005, p. 74.Johnson, Flint, The British sources of the abduction and Grail romances, University Press of America, 2002, pp. 38–39.Chambers, Edmund Kerchever, Arthur of Britain, Speculum Historiale, 1964, p. 170 derives the name Arthur from the Latin Arcturus (the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near Ursa Major or the Great Beararctūrus, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus), which is the latinisation of the Greek Ἀρκτοῦρος (Arktouros), Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. and means Bear Guardian from ἄρκτος (arktos "bear"), Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. and οὖρος (ouros "watcher/guardian")., Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. 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.; .
Translations Albanian: Artur Amharic: አርተር Arabic: أرثر, ارثور, ارتور Armenian: (Art'ur) Azerbaijani: Artur Basque: Artur, Artza Bengali: আর্থার (Ārthāra) Breton: Arzhur Bulgarian: Артур (Artur) Catalan: Artur, Artús Celtic: Arto, Artto 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: ארתור (Artur) Hindi: 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: ಆರ್ಥರ್ (Ārthar) Korean: 아서 (Aseo), 아써 (Asseo), 아더 (Adeo) Kurdish: ئارتەر Latin: Arturus/Arthurus, Artorius/Arturius Latvian: Artūrs Lithuanian: Artūras Malayalam: ആർതർ (ārtar) Maldivian: އަރތަރ Maltese: Arturu, Turu Manx: Artair 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: آرتھر Uzbek: Artur Welsh: Arthur
People and fictional characters Kings and princes Legendary King Arthur, legendary king in Arthurian legend
Brittany Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187–1203), claimant to the English throne. 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 Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883–1938), son of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Notable people Arthur 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 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 Arthur James "Daddy" Black (1877– 1932), American businessman 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 Brauss (1936–2025), German actor Arthur Bremer (born 1950), American attempted assassin of George Wallace Arthur Buck (born 1935), Canadian politician Arthur Beecher Carles (1882–1952), American modernist painter Art Carney (1918–2003), American actor Arthur Cayley (1822–1895), British mathematician Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), British writer Arthur Cohn (1927–2025), Swiss film producer Arthur Compton (1892–1962), American physicist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), British writer Arthur Conley (1946–2003), American soul singer Arthur Brynley Creber (1909-1966), Welsh cricketer 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 Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton (1849–1937), Protestant Episcopal clergyman and writer 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