US rank #105 Boys' name Peak 1921 544,857 births

Arthur — #105 US boys' name

544,857 babies named Arthur in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s161801890s163491900s154091910s674781920s971121930s677301940s739661950s657201960s396201970s221021980s167951990s117822000s83412010s126262020s13647
#105
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.3% of names given to boys today.

1920s
Peak decade

18% of everyone ever named Arthur was born in this single decade.

1921
Single peak year

10,527 babies were named Arthur in 1921 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Arthur

The Social Security Administration has registered 544,857 babies named Arthur between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Arthur currently holds the #105 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 10,527 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Arthur performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 97,112 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Arthur shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 60,200 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Arthur in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Arthur in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 544,857 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Arthur at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

544,857

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1921

10,527 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#105

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Arthur popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1921)
10,527
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
05,00010,00015,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 1,599

Arthur popularity over time — girls

3,200 total births recorded since 1880 (Arthur as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 3,200 births
020406080100 202419811966195119361921190618911880 5

Arthur by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
97,112 births that decade — 18% of Arthur's all-time total
1880s161801890s163491900s154091910s674781920s971121930s677301940s739661950s657201960s396201970s221021980s167951990s117822000s83412010s126262020s13647

Arthur by state

Where Arthur concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Arthur
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
60,200 11.0%
#2 California
37,155 6.8%
#3 Pennsylvania
28,476 5.2%
#4 Illinois
27,321 5.0%
#5 Massachusetts
25,619 4.7%
#6 Texas
24,658 4.5%
#7 Michigan
20,848 3.8%
#8 Ohio
19,926 3.7%
New York share of Arthur's total US births 11.0%
Even split

60,200 of 544,857 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Arthur appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Arthur?
544,857 babies have been named Arthur since 1880. It currently ranks #105 among boys. The peak year was 1921 with 10,527 births.
When was Arthur most popular?
Arthur was most popular in the 1920s decade with 97,112 total births. The single peak year was 1921.
Where is Arthur most popular?
The top states for the name Arthur are New York (60,200 births), California (37,155 births), Pennsylvania (28,476 births).
How long has the name Arthur been used?
Arthur has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Arthur?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Arturo, Art, Artis, Arther, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Arthur

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.