Arthur
Arthur was given to 3,847 boys in 2025, #87 among boys’ names; 551,930 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 202,000 Americans named Arthur and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (37% of everyone recorded); the median is 62 years old and half are between 37 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Arthur by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Arthur mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Arthur is “a male given name from the Celtic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “bear” (arth).
From the name of the legendary king, from Middle English Arthure, from Medieval Latin Arthurus, probably from Middle Welsh arth (“bear”). Other suggestions include Old Welsh arth (“bear”) and ur (“man”), or a Latinized (Romano-British) name; compare Latin Artorius, itself possibly of Etruscan origin, or more likely Messapic-Illyrian related to Proto-Albanian *artsa (“bear”).
/ˈɑɹθɚ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Arthur?
#87 among boys’ names, 2025
Arthur rose from #292 in 2015 to #87 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 0.65 to 2.3 per 1,000.
10,579 babies in 1921, the peak
Arthur peaked in 1921, when 10,579 babies were given it (10,527 boys, #19 among boys’ names). The 3,847 births of 2025 are 36% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,847 | #87 | 2.3 |
| 2024 | 3,334 | #105 | 1.9 |
| 2023 | 2,832 | #130 | 1.7 |
| 2022 | 2,691 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 2021 | 2,477 | #155 | 1.4 |
| 2020 | 2,338 | #163 | 1.4 |
| 2019 | 2,193 | #177 | 1.2 |
| 2018 | 1,653 | #229 | 0.91 |
| 2017 | 1,514 | #245 | 0.82 |
| 2016 | 1,345 | #273 | 0.71 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,247 | #292 | 0.65 |
| 2014 | 1,153 | #306 | 0.60 |
| 2013 | 1,034 | #321 | 0.55 |
| 2012 | 865 | #355 | 0.46 |
| 2011 | 893 | #339 | 0.47 |
| 2010 | 730 | #388 | 0.38 |
| 2009 | 812 | #374 | 0.41 |
| 2008 | 862 | #363 | 0.42 |
| 2007 | 819 | #375 | 0.39 |
| 2006 | 793 | #377 | 0.39 |
| 2005 | 830 | #356 | 0.42 |
| 2004 | 792 | #355 | 0.40 |
| 2003 | 795 | #351 | 0.40 |
| 2002 | 844 | #326 | 0.43 |
| 2001 | 881 | #319 | 0.45 |
| 2000 | 914 | #316 | 0.47 |
| 1999 | 874 | #320 | 0.46 |
| 1998 | 983 | #290 | 0.51 |
| 1997 | 973 | #287 | 0.52 |
| 1996 | 1,008 | #276 | 0.53 |
| 1995 | 1,113 | #254 | 0.58 |
| 1994 | 1,160 | #248 | 0.60 |
| 1993 | 1,241 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1992 | 1,412 | #219 | 0.71 |
| 1991 | 1,477 | #212 | 0.73 |
| 1990 | 1,542 | #197 | 0.75 |
| 1989 | 1,534 | #189 | 0.77 |
| 1988 | 1,552 | #183 | 0.81 |
| 1987 | 1,557 | #177 | 0.83 |
| 1986 | 1,571 | #170 | 0.85 |
| 1985 | 1,716 | #158 | 0.93 |
| 1984 | 1,700 | #159 | 0.94 |
| 1983 | 1,747 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1982 | 1,794 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1981 | 1,802 | #152 | 1.0 |
| 1980 | 1,821 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1979 | 1,862 | #144 | 1.1 |
| 1978 | 1,874 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1977 | 1,969 | #135 | 1.2 |
| 1976 | 1,904 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1975 | 2,022 | #128 | 1.3 |
| 1974 | 2,074 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1973 | 2,204 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1972 | 2,394 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1971 | 2,816 | #117 | 1.6 |
| 1970 | 2,981 | #111 | 1.6 |
| 1969 | 3,138 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1968 | 3,039 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1967 | 3,312 | #94 | 1.9 |
| 1966 | 3,482 | #96 | 2.0 |
| 1965 | 3,779 | #96 | 2.0 |
| 1964 | 4,147 | #91 | 2.1 |
| 1963 | 4,275 | #91 | 2.1 |
| 1962 | 4,441 | #91 | 2.1 |
| 1961 | 4,815 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1960 | 5,194 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1959 | 5,474 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1958 | 5,663 | #72 | 2.7 |
| 1957 | 6,052 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,289 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1955 | 6,570 | #56 | 3.2 |
| 1954 | 6,856 | #52 | 3.4 |
| 1953 | 7,001 | #50 | 3.5 |
| 1952 | 7,236 | #47 | 3.7 |
| 1951 | 7,414 | #44 | 3.9 |
| 1950 | 7,161 | #46 | 4.0 |
| 1949 | 7,482 | #44 | 4.2 |
| 1948 | 7,576 | #44 | 4.3 |
| 1947 | 8,255 | #38 | 4.5 |
| 1946 | 7,537 | #36 | 4.6 |
| 1945 | 6,802 | #34 | 5.1 |
| 1944 | 7,255 | #29 | 5.3 |
| 1943 | 7,785 | #30 | 5.5 |
| 1942 | 8,027 | #29 | 5.8 |
| 1941 | 6,739 | #33 | 5.5 |
| 1940 | 6,510 | #33 | 5.6 |
| 1939 | 6,380 | #32 | 5.8 |
| 1938 | 6,525 | #32 | 5.9 |
| 1937 | 6,321 | #31 | 5.9 |
| 1936 | 6,264 | #30 | 6.0 |
| 1935 | 6,547 | #29 | 6.3 |
| 1934 | 6,443 | #29 | 6.2 |
| 1933 | 6,525 | #25 | 6.6 |
| 1932 | 6,916 | #25 | 6.6 |
| 1931 | 7,525 | #23 | 7.2 |
| 1930 | 8,284 | #23 | 7.5 |
| 1929 | 8,470 | #22 | 7.9 |
| 1928 | 8,880 | #22 | 8.0 |
| 1927 | 9,338 | #22 | 8.3 |
| 1926 | 9,465 | #20 | 8.5 |
| 1925 | 9,986 | #20 | 8.9 |
| 1924 | 10,172 | #20 | 9.0 |
| 1923 | 9,924 | #19 | 9.1 |
| 1922 | 10,114 | #19 | 9.3 |
| 1921 | 10,527 | #19 | 9.6 |
| 1920 | 10,236 | #18 | 9.6 |
| 1919 | 9,540 | #19 | 9.7 |
| 1918 | 10,105 | #17 | 10.0 |
| 1917 | 9,282 | #17 | 10.0 |
| 1916 | 8,921 | #18 | 10.0 |
| 1915 | 8,564 | #18 | 10.1 |
| 1914 | 6,641 | #18 | 10.1 |
| 1913 | 5,422 | #17 | 10.6 |
| 1912 | 4,685 | #15 | 10.9 |
| 1911 | 2,376 | #18 | 10.5 |
| 1910 | 1,942 | #17 | 10.0 |
| 1909 | 1,665 | #18 | 10.2 |
| 1908 | 1,601 | #16 | 10.4 |
| 1907 | 1,553 | #16 | 10.6 |
| 1906 | 1,486 | #15 | 11.2 |
| 1905 | 1,505 | #16 | 11.4 |
| 1904 | 1,495 | #15 | 11.7 |
| 1903 | 1,435 | #15 | 12.0 |
| 1902 | 1,487 | #15 | 12.1 |
| 1901 | 1,329 | #14 | 12.5 |
| 1900 | 1,853 | #15 | 12.3 |
| 1899 | 1,357 | #14 | 12.8 |
| 1898 | 1,619 | #14 | 13.2 |
| 1897 | 1,647 | #14 | 14.6 |
| 1896 | 1,821 | #14 | 15.2 |
| 1895 | 1,666 | #14 | 14.2 |
| 1894 | 1,712 | #14 | 14.8 |
| 1893 | 1,635 | #14 | 14.6 |
| 1892 | 1,768 | #14 | 14.5 |
| 1891 | 1,514 | #14 | 15.0 |
| 1890 | 1,610 | #14 | 14.5 |
| 1889 | 1,668 | #14 | 15.1 |
| 1888 | 1,710 | #14 | 14.1 |
| 1887 | 1,489 | #14 | 14.7 |
| 1886 | 1,656 | #14 | 14.9 |
| 1885 | 1,516 | #15 | 14.1 |
| 1884 | 1,690 | #14 | 14.8 |
| 1883 | 1,591 | #14 | 15.2 |
| 1882 | 1,686 | #14 | 14.8 |
| 1881 | 1,575 | #14 | 15.6 |
| 1880 | 1,599 | #14 | 14.5 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Arthur a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Arthur has been given almost only to boys: 3,201 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Arthur: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Arthur, and how old are they?
202,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 37% of the 551,930 Americans ever recorded as Arthur. The median Arthur alive today is 62 years old; half are between 37 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 205,844 people named Arthur (435 women and girls, 205,409 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 219,713 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 24,500 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 77,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 35,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 22,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 27,500 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Arthur born?
The states with the most babies named Arthur are New York, California and Pennsylvania, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 60,520 | #84 | 1.4× |
| California | 37,541 | #109 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 28,624 | #99 | 0.8× |
| Illinois | 27,477 | #79 | 1.0× |
| Massachusetts | 25,752 | #47 | 1.6× |
| Texas | 25,107 | #139 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 20,999 | #67 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 20,072 | #85 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 18,418 | #117 | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 13,588 | #124 | 0.9× |
Where Arthur is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Arthur is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 1.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Arthur with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 558,280 babies since 1880, Arthur is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 3,847 of their 3,858 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Arthur
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Arthur and names like it
- Compare Arthur and ArtherBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sArthur peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Arthur since 1910.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Arthur.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Arthur alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.