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 [ 2 syll. ar-(t)hur, art-h-ur ] The boy name Arthur is pronounced as AARTHer KEY. 1: Arthur is used predominantly in the English and German languages, and its origin is Celtic. From the elements 'art' meaning stone, bear ; 'artus' meaning tight. Artorius (Latinized) and Artus (Old English) are old forms of Arthur. The name is of obscure Celtic origin; it could be derived from the Celtic 'artos' (bear) or the Irish 'art' (stone, bear) (stone), or from the Roman family name Artorius. It could also be Germanic in origin. A Roman officer with the latter name has been suggested as a historical basis for the legendary King Arthur, who is believed to have reigned in the 5th or 6th century. The 'th' in the English name is not found prior to the 16th century. Arthurian legend contributed to the vast popularity of the name. Three other princes, namely Henry II's son (1187-1203), Henry VII's son (1486-1502) and Queen Victoria's third son (1850-1942) also bore the name as Prince Arthur. The name Arthuretta (English) is the female version of Arthur. Arthur has 18 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Arthur used in English include Arte and Arthos (used in Irish and Scottish too). Other English forms include the short form Art (used in Irish, and Scottish too), the pet forms Artie and Arty, and the variant spellings Arther and Artur (used in German, and Irish too). Foreign variants of Arthur include Aart (Dutch), Anthanasios (Greek), Artair (Scottish), Artek (Polish), Artis (Czech), Arto (Finnish), Artturi (Finnish), Arturo (Italian and Spanish), Atze (German), Thanasis (Greek), and Thanos (Greek). 2: Arthur is of Germanic origin. The meaning here is thor, the eagle. An old form of the name is Arnthor (Germanic). The English name Arnthor is a variation of the name. Arthur is a classic favorite. Today it is still fairly popular as a baby name for boys, though it was in more widespread use before. At the peak of its usage in 1901, 1.149% of baby boys were named Arthur. It ranked at #14 then. The baby name has since suffered a substantial decline in frequency, and it is of occasional use in recent times. In 2008, its usage was only 0.040% and its ranking #363. Out of the group of boy names directly related to Arthur, the Italian and Spanish Arturo was the most popular. In 2008, it was used 4.293% more than Arthur. Baby names that sound like Arthur include the Scottish Artair, the English Arther, the Finnish Artturi, the English, German, and Irish Artur, and the Italian and Spanish Arturo. Details of famous persons named Arthur: KEY: English pronunciation for Arthur: AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; TH as in "theta (TH.EY.T.AH)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"   |
