Arthur
Celtic in origin, and at root it means "bear". Fewer than 1,300 men in Poland carry it, so most people here have never met one.
Arthur Pronunciation
What Arthur means
Where Arthur comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Arthur reaches back to a Celtic word for the bear, arto-. That animal, heavy and slow to anger, gave the name its oldest meaning. English speakers and French speakers both claimed Arthur, and each kept the bear inside it.
Most people meet the name through a king. Geoffrey of Monmouth set down the legend of King Arthur around 1136, and within a generation the French poet Chrétien de Troyes had turned that court into the romances of Lancelot and the Grail. The bear had become a crown.
France gave the name a poet too. Arthur Rimbaud signed his verse before he turned twenty. In a Polish class register you will more often find Artur, the local spelling, while an official form at the urząd may carry Arthur in full. The animal stays put. Niedźwiedź, under every version.
How many people are named Arthur
1 in 16573 men in Poland is named Arthur. 1,288 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #855 among male names.
Arthur's popularity over time
14 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #601 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2004.
Where Arthur is most popular
Arthur is most popular in Lesser Poland, 97% above the national average (13 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+55%) and Subcarpathian (+42%). It is least common in Lower Silesian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 56% and 37% below average respectively.
-
Lesser Poland13 boys born+97%
-
Masovian16 boys born+55%
-
Subcarpathian5 boys born+42%
-
Pomeranian6 boys born+40%
-
Lublin4 boys born+34%
-
West Pomeranian3 boys born+22%
-
Warmian-Masurian2 boys born−4%
-
Silesian6 boys born−10%
-
Greater Poland4 boys born−36%
-
Kuyavian-Pomeranian2 boys born−37%
-
Lower Silesian2 boys born−56%
Arthur as a middle name
Arthur is a first name for 1,288 men in Poland and a middle name for another 565, a 70/30 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 302nd, between Justyn (566) and Jaromir (563).
-
#300 Nicholas567
-
#301 Justyn566
-
#302 Arthur565
-
#303 Jaromir563
-
#304 Gerhard556