Artur
Celtic in origin, carrying the meaning "bear". It still ranks inside Poland's top 100 names for boys, though given to fewer newborns now than in years past.
Artur Pronunciation
Artur is pronounced AHR-toor (/ˈartur/).
What Artur means
Where Artur comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Artur comes from Celtic roots, and the oldest thread runs back to a word for bear. Scholars connect it to the Proto-Celtic *artos and the Welsh arth, both naming that animal. In Polish the sense is simply niedźwiedź. So a boy called Artur is given an old word for a strong forest creature.
The literary Arthur, king of the Britons, is what gave the name its long life across Europe. From Welsh legend it passed into medieval romance, and later it reached Poland, where Artur settled easily among Polish given names.
Picture a September class register with an Artur near the top. The name reads plainly, no Polish spelling needed to soften or adjust it. Its imieniny sit in the calendar too, a small yearly marker for anyone who holds the name.
Bear was the meaning at the start, and bear it stays: Artur, niedźwiedź.
When Artur celebrates name day
Artur appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar, 2 of them as a main name, the first on 6 October.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Artur
1 in 108 men in Poland is named Artur. 197,651 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #65 among male names.
Artur's popularity over time
651 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #90 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #65 name among living men, even as it slips to #90 among newborns.
Where Artur is most popular
Artur is most popular in Lesser Poland, 27% above the national average (750 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Pomeranian (+23%) and Lower Silesian (+15%). It is least common in Świętokrzyskie and Lublin, 43% and 26% below average respectively.
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Lesser Poland750 boys born+27%
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Pomeranian473 boys born+23%
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Lower Silesian470 boys born+15%
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Subcarpathian355 boys born+13%
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West Pomeranian249 boys born+13%
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Silesian669 boys born+13%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian302 boys born+6%
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Opole116 boys born−3%
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Warmian-Masurian179 boys born−4%
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Łódź315 boys born−5%
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Lubusz116 boys born−10%
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Masovian784 boys born−15%
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Podlaskie145 boys born−15%
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Greater Poland425 boys born−24%
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Lublin197 boys born−26%
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Świętokrzyskie82 boys born−43%
Artur as a middle name
Artur is a first name for 197,651 men in Poland and a middle name for another 70,058, a 74/26 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 41st, between Kamil (70,203) and Edward (68,561).
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#39 Stefan70,831
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#40 Kamil70,203
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#41 Artur70,058
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#42 Edward68,561
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#43 Mirosław68,158