Arthur
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from the Celtic languages. 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”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Arthur (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Arthur has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2019. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | 13 |
| 2002 | 14 |
| 2003 | 15 |
| 2004 | 8 |
| 2005 | 13 |
| 2006 | 12 |
| 2007 | 20 |
| 2008 | 19 |
| 2009 | 29 |
| 2010 | 34 |
| 2011 | 45 |
| 2012 | 46 |
| 2013 | 53 |
| 2014 | 47 |
| 2015 | 65 |
| 2016 | 56 |
| 2017 | 58 |
| 2018 | 67 |
| 2019 | 102 |
| 2020 | 98 |
| 2021 | 97 |
| 2022 | 88 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 426 |
| 2000 | 429 |
| 2001 | 442 |
| 2002 | 443 |
| 2003 | 458 |
| 2004 | 460 |
| 2005 | 457 |
| 2006 | 468 |
| 2007 | 494 |
| 2008 | 508 |
| 2009 | 531 |
| 2010 | 563 |
| 2011 | 608 |
| 2012 | 651 |
| 2013 | 696 |
| 2014 | 740 |
| 2015 | 806 |
| 2016 | 864 |
| 2017 | 926 |
| 2018 | 993 |
| 2019 | 1,087 |
| 2020 | 1,177 |
Arthur in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Arthur.Hi! My name is Arthur.
- Arthur ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Arthur called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Arthur har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Arthur has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Arthurs mamma är lärare.Arthur's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Arthurs mamma is Arthur's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Arthur
How do you pronounce Arthur in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Arthur in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Arthur mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from the Celtic languages. 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”).
How popular is Arthur in Sweden?
88 babies were named Arthur in 2022. In 2020, 1,177 people in Sweden had Arthur as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2019 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.