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. 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 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 wr "man").
An alternative theory, which has gained limited acceptance among scholars, derives the name Arthur from the Latin 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.
Translations
Albanian: Artur
Amharic: አርተር
Arabic: أرثر, ارثور, ارتور
Armenian: Արթուր (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
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…