Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more widely believed, is that the name is derived from the Roman clan '' Artorius'' who lived in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...

for centuries. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo.

Etymology

The earliest datable attestation of the name Arthur is in the early 9th century Welsh-Latin text ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

'', where it refers to a circa 5th to 6th-century

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

general who fought against the invading

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, 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 ''Y Gododdin'' () is a medieval Welsh poem consisting of a series of elegies to the men of the Brittonic kingdom of Gododdin and its allies who, according to the conventional interpretation, died fighting the Angles of Deira and Bernicia a ...

'' by

Aneirin Aneirin , Aneurin or Neirin was an early Medieval Brythonic war poet. He is believed to have been a bard or court poet in one of the Cumbric kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd, probably that of Gododdin at Edinburgh, in modern Scotland. From the 17th c ...

, 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 The Book of Aneirin ( cy, Llyfr Aneirin) is a late 13th century Welsh manuscript containing Old and Middle Welsh poetry attributed to the late 6th century Northern Brythonic poet, Aneirin, who is believed to have lived in present-day Scotland. Th ...

. 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 Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

form ''Artur''), producing

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''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 Áedán mac Gabráin (pronounced in Old Irish; ga, Aodhán mac Gabhráin, lang), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and par ...

(died 609). The exact origins of the name Arthur remains a matter of debate. The most widely accepted etymology derives it from the Roman '' nomen gentile'' (family name) Artorius. Artorius is of obscure and contested etymology, but is possibly of Messapic or

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

origin. 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 Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. The commonly proposed derivation from Welsh ''arth'' "bear" + (g)wr "man" (earlier ''*Arto-uiros'' in Brittonic) is not possible for

phonological Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

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 only gained limited acceptance among scholars, derives the name Arthur from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of the ...

(the brightest star in the constellation Boötes, near

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

or the Great Bear), which is the latinisation of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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. Avestan '/arta and its

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

equivalent '' '' both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian ''*ṛtá-'' "truth", which in turn continues

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

''*'' "properly joined, right, true", from the root ''*''. The word is attested in Old Persian as '.

People and characters with the given name Arthur

Kings and princes

Legendary

* King Arthur, king of Britain in

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

Brittany

* Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (1187–1203), killed by his uncle king

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

Arthur II, Duke of Brittany Arthur II (25 July 1261 – 27 August 1312), of the House of Dreux, was Duke of Brittany from 1305 to his death. He was the first son of John II and Beatrice, daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. After he inherited the duca ...

(1261–1312) *

Arthur III, Duke of Brittany Arthur III ( br, Arzhur), more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont (24 August 139326 December 1458), was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during ...

(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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

Prince Arthur of Connaught Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 – 12 September 1938) was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 ...

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

Famous people

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

or Arthur Melo (born 1996), Brazilian footballer * Arthur "Man" Agee Jr., American former Chicago-area high school basketball player * Arthur Ahmed (born 1970), Ghanaian politician *

Arthur Albiston Arthur Richard Albiston (born 14 July 1957) is a Scottish former football player. Albiston played for Manchester United for most of his career, making almost 500 appearances for the club. He also made 14 international appearances for Scotland an ...

(born 1957), Scottish footballer who played for Manchester United and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Arthur Alexander Arthur Alexander (May 10, 1940 – June 9, 1993) was an American country soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff ...

(1940–1993), American soul singer and songwriter * Arthur Antunes Coimbra (born 1953), Brazil, 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), comic writer and illustrator for DC Super Pets *Arthur Harold Beal (1896–1992), creator of Nitt Witt Ridge *Arthur Blok (1882–1974), English first administrative head of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology *Arthur Bluethenthal (1891–1918), American football player *Arthur Bradfield (1892–1978), English cricketer *Arthur Bramley (1929–2021), English footballer *Arthur Bremer (born 1950), American attempted assassin of George Wallace *Art Carney (1918–2003), American actor *Arthur Cayley (1822–1895), British mathematician *Sir Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008), British writer *Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), British writer *Arthur Conley (1946–2003), American soul singer *General Sir Arthur Currie (1875-1933), senior officer of the Canadian Army during the First World War *Arthur Darvill (born 1982), British actor and musician *Arthur Marcelles de Silva (1879-1957), Sri Lankan Sinhala surgeon, first Sri Lankan to gain Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons of England *Arthur Delaporte (born 1991), French politician *Sir Arthur Eddington (1882–1944), British astrophysicist *Sir Arthur Evans (1851–1941), British archaeologist *Arthur Fenner (1745–1805), fourth Governor of Rhode Island *Arthur Frommer (born 1929), American travel writer and publisher *A. B. Frost, 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 *Count Arthur 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 Lawrence Hellyer Jr. (1923–2018), American radio host *Art Heyman (1941–2012), American NBA basketball player *Arthur Holden (born 1959), Canadian voice actor *Arthur Honegger (1892–1955), Swiss composer *Arthur James Johnes (1809–1871), English judge *Arthur J. Jones (born 1948), American Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi politician *Arthur Koestler (1905–1983), British writer *Arthur Laffer (born 1940), American economist *Arthur Lee (musician), Arthur Lee (1945–2006), American musician *Arthur Lethbridge (known as Ivor Moreton and Dave Kaye, 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 *Harpo Marx, Arthur "Harpo" Marx (1888–1964), American comedian and musician *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, Sir Arthur Godwin Ranasinghe, Sri Lankan Sinhala civil servant, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka from 1954-1959 *Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891), French poet *Arthur Rödl (1898–1945), German Nazi SS commandant of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp *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 major league baseball player and Israel Baseball League manager *Arthur Shawcross (1945–2008), American cannibalistic serial killer and rapist *Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), English composer who did operatic collaborations with librettist W. S. Gilbert *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, 1st Duke of Wellington, 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

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 (TV series), ''Arthur'', an animated educational television series for children ages 4 to 8, developed by Kathy Waugh for PBS, and produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH. *Arthur Kirkland (アーサー・カークランド), the given human name for the National personification, personification of the United Kingdom from the anime series ''Hetalia: Axis Powers'' *Arthur, a character 1991 American coming-of-age comedy-drama movie ''My Girl (film)#Cast, My Girl'' *Arthur Birling, an antagonist within the post-war play An Inspector Calls *Arthur Curry, ''Aquaman'' *Arthur the Tank Engine, a character from Thomas and Friends *Ser Arthur Dayne, a character from ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' 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'' series * Arthur Dupres, a character in the American TV miniseries ''V (1983 miniseries)#Cast, V (1983 miniseries)'' *Arthur Fleck, the main character in ''Joker (2019 film)'' *Fonzie, Arthur Fonzarelli, ''Happy Days'' *Arthur Morgan (Red Dead), Arthur Morgan, the main character of the video game ''Red Dead Redemption 2'' *Arthur Read, main character in ''Arthur (TV Show)'' *Arthur Seaton is the main character in Alan Sillitoe's debut novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. *Arthur Shelby, a character from the ''Peaky Blinders (TV series)'' *Arthur Weasley, a character of the ''Harry Potter'' book series *Arthur Wright, a character in the 1997 French-American fantasy drama movie ''FairyTale: A True Story#Cast, FairyTale: A True Story'' *Arthur Watts, a major antagonist in the animated web series ''RWBY''

In many languages

*Albanian language, Albanian: Artur *Amharic language, Amharic: አርተር *Arabic language, Arabic: أرثر, ارثور, ارتور *Armenian language, Armenian: (Art'ur) *Basque language, Basque: Artur, Artza *Bengali language, Bengali: আর্থার (Ārthāra) *Breton language, Breton: Arzhur *Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Артур (Artur) *Catalan language, Catalan: Artur, Artús *Chechen language, Chechen: Артур (Artur) *Chinese language, Chinese: ''Simplified:'' 亚瑟 (Yàsè), 阿瑟 (Āsè), 阿图尔 (Ātúěr) ''Traditional:'' 亞瑟 (Yàsè), 阿瑟 (Āsè), 阿圖爾 (Ātúěr) *Croatian language, Croatian: Artur *Czech language, Czech: Artuš, Artur *Danish language, Danish: Arthur *Dutch language, Dutch: Arthur, Artuur *Estonian language, Estonian: Artur, Ats *English language, English: Arthur *Finnish language, Finnish: Artturi, Arttu, Arto, Artto *French language, French: Arthur *Galician language, Galician: Artur, Artús *Georgian language, Georgian: ართური (Arturi) *German language, German: Artur, Arthur *

: Αρθούρος (Arthouros/Artouros) *Gujarati language, Gujarati: આર્થર (Ārthara) *Hebrew language, Hebrew: ארתור (Artur) *Hindi language, Hindi: आर्थर (aarthar) *Hungarian language, Hungarian: Artúr *Icelandic language, Icelandic: Arthur *Indonesian language, Indonesian: Arthur *Inuktitut syllabics, Inuktitut: ᐋᑐᕐ (aatur) *Irish language, Irish: Artúr *Italian language, Italian: Arturo (common name), Artù (the Briton king) *Japanese language, Japanese: アーサー (Āsā) (in katakana) *Kannada language, Kannada: ಆರ್ಥರ್‌ (Ārthar‌) *Korean language, Korean: 아서 (Aseo), 아써 (Asseo), 아더 (Adeo) *Central Kurdish, Kurdish: ئارتەر *Latin language, Latin: Arturus/Arthurus, Artorius/Arturius *Latvian language, Latvian: Artūrs *Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: Artūras *Malayalam language, Malayalam: ആർതർ (ārtar) *Maldivian language, Maldivian: އަރތަރ *Maltese language, Maltese: Arturu, Turu *Nahuatl language, Nāhuatl: Arthur *Norman language, Norman: Èrthu *Norwegian language, Norwegian: Artur *Ossetian language, Ossetian: Артур (Artur) *Jamaican Patois, Patois: Aata *Persian language, Persian: آرتور *Polish language, Polish: Artur *Portuguese language, Portuguese: Artur, Arthur (archaic spelling, common in Brazil) *Punjabi language, Punjabi: ''Gurmukhi script:'' ਆਰਥਰ (Ārathara), ''Shahmukhi script:'' آرتھر *Romanian language, Romanian: Arthur, Artur *Russian language, Russian: Артур (Artur) *Serbian language, Serbian: Артур (Artur) *Sinhalese language, Sinhalese: ආතර් (ātar) *Slovak language, Slovakian: Artúr *Slovene language, Slovenian: Artur *Spanish language, Spanish: Arturo *Swedish language, Swedish: Artur *Thai language, Thai: อาร์เธอร์ (Xār̒ṭhexr̒) *Turkish language, Turkish: Artur *Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Артур (Artur) *Urdu language, Urdu: آرتھر *Uzbek language, Uzbek: Artur *

: Arthur

References

Sources *. *. *. (EBSCO subscription required for online access.) *. *. *. * *. *. (JSTOR subscription required for online access.) * Jaski, Bart, ''Early Irish examples of the name Arthur'', ''Z.C.P.'' band 56, 2004 * {{given name Welsh masculine given names English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Irish masculine given names Scottish masculine given names French masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Norwegian masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Finnish masculine given names Danish masculine given names vi:Arthur