A truly ancient British name, borne by a legendary king,
a military hero, and several royal princes. Yet, for such a grandly
borne name, it feels remarkably homely.
Origin: |
Where does Arthur come from? That is a question that many have asked for centuries and yet the answer still remains elusive. What we do know is that the King Arthur of legend was mentioned by name as early as 796, when a Welsh monk named Nennius described the exploits of a dux bellorum ("war leader") in the Historia Brittonum. Many scholars believe that name comes from the Proto-Celtic arto- meaning "bear," which later became arth in Welsh. Given that most of the evidence for the name comes from Wales, a Celtic route seems quite obvious. Other early names contained this element, include the Brythonic Arthgen meaning "bear born", Arthgal meaning "vigour of a bear", or the Artognou mentioned on the famous stone found in Tintagell. There was also a well attested ancient Celtic goddess named Artio. Scholars such as Stefan Zimmer favour the construction Artorigios meaning "bear king" as the origin for Arthur itself. Another long-standing theory is that Arthur is the Welsh form of the Roman family name Artorius. A Roman general, Lucius Artorius Castus — a Dalmatian career soldier who commanded VI Victrix at York in the 2nd century — is thought by some scholars to be the "real" man behind the legend of King Arthur. The name Artorius itself was not especially common among the Romans, and its origins are obscure. To make it more complicated, some believe Artorius is Roman in origin, while others think it is the Latinised form of the Celtic Artorigios (above). N. J. Higham claims that the move from Artorius to Arthur is "phonologically perfect" and maintains that if Arthur came from the Celtic *arto-wiros "bear man" then in Middle Welsh it would have become Arthwr and not Arthur. This, he argues, proves that the name was Roman in origin; he does not, however, look into the possibility that Arthur came from a different compound of *arto such as Artorigios. There is no doubt that the Romans had a strong influence over British culture, religion and nomenclature. Rather than Artorius, this Roman connection may have come through a different route. Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, was the Latin spelling of the Greek Arktouros — derived from arktos "bear" and ouros "guardian, warden". In Greek mythology Arcturus was placed in the heavens by Zeus to protect Arcas and Callisto, whom the jealous Hera had turned into bears. The loss of the c was not uncommon in Medieval Latin (arcticus became articus, for example) and there are instances where Arthur was actually Latinised as Arcturus (or the genitive Arcturi) in medieval texts, as well as the more common Arthurus and Arturus. Graham Anderson even proposes that the mysterious Artorius may itself have been an adjectival form Ar(c)turus, fitting the same pattern as other names derived from the divine e.g Dionysus > Dionysius or Artemis > Artemisius. Others, however, believe that the Celtic Arthur and Latin Arcturus were only connected by scholars in the Middle Ages, assumed to be the same name thanks to their cognate meanings. Another theory is that Arthur derives from the Old Norse name Arnþórr (Arnthor) meaning "eagle of Thor," though quite how the Scandinavian Arnthor became prominent in Wales is unsubstantiated and lacks credibility. Personally, I find the evidence for the Celtic *arto highly convincing. And whether you favour Artorigios or Arcturus, the Greek arktos "bear" and Proto-Celtic *arto "bear" are most likely descended from a common Proto-Indo-European word (often reconstructed as *rkto-). To attribute, therfore, a meaning of "bear" to Arthur fits quite comfortably to my mind. |
Usage: |
The Domesday Book mentions two Arthurs in 1086 — one spelt Artur and one spelt Artor. A few examples of the name can be found in the 12th and 13th century, though instances are not especially common. What we can tell is that the name was used at least enough to form the surnames Arthur, Arthurs and Arter at this time. The name seems to have had almost consistant usage in Wales since the early Middle Ages, though examples are sparse. In 1187, Constance, Duchess of Brittany, wife of the recently deceased Geoffrey, son of Henry II (and brother of Richard I and John I) named her posthumous and only son, not Geoffrey, after his late father, but Arthur. Her two daughters, Eleanor and Maud, were clearly named for her husband's mother and grandmother, so it is curious why she chose a non-family name for her son. Arthurian legends were popular subjects for courtly troubadours at the time, so it is supposed that Constance was inspired by the legend of King Arthur. The name seems to have fallen out of favour after the 13th century in England. However, in Yorkshire at least, the name began to pick up in usage again in the 1460s.* In his frequency tables from 1538-1700, Smith-Bannister demonstrates that Arthur was a Top 50 name across England (generally between #35 and #50) from 1538 to 1639. It dropped in general use in the 17th century, though still maintained some popularity among the aristocracy. Much of the name's huge popularity in the 19th century was thanks to the extraordinary fame of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), whose victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815 firmly cemented him as a national hero. The name was further boosted by Queen Victoria who used the name for her third son in 1850. Her Arthur was given his name because he was born on Wellington's birthday, who also acted as the prince's Godfather. We can certainly see the impact of the royal baby name on the UK census. In 1841 there were 13,825 Arthurs listed. On the 1851 census (taken 11 months after the prince was born), there were 27,556 Arthurs, 16% of whom were born after the royal prince. The name ranked #6 in England and Wales in 1890 and 1900. It had risen to #5 in 1904 and then very slowly began to decline: #6 in 1914, #9 in 1924, #25 in 1934, #47 in 1944 and #72 in 1954, after which it fell out of the Top 100. In 2000, Arthur ranked #201 in England and Wales with 161 births. It has steadily risen since, and finally returned back to the Top 100 in 2009 at #93 (712 births). In 2011, the name ranked #68 with 961 births. In Scotland, Arthur ranked #199 in 2011 with 22 births. |
Famous Bearers: |
Royalty: * Arthur, Duke of Brittany (1187–1203), nephew, and once heir of, Richard I. History: * Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), heroic military leader and statesman. Literature and Media: * Arthur (1981), comedy film staring Dudley Moore. |
Variants: |
Artur (Scandinavian, German, Polish), Arturo (Spanish, Italian), Artair (Scottish) |
Pronunciation: |
AR-thə [key] |
Possible Diminutives: |
Art, Artie, Arth |
Sibling Names: |
Evelyn Rose Florence Alice Catherine Eliza |
Name Lists: |
Victorian Darlings Royal Names Dickensian Names Names from Jane Austen Names from Tennyson Demi-Gods and Mortals of Mythology |
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Thanks to Aure for requesting Arthur as this week's NotW.