Boys' name · peaked in 1881
Arthur name popularity since 1925
384,679 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Arthur (0.6% girls, 99.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1950 or earlier, so the typical Arthur is about 76 years old in 2026. Arthur peaked in 1881 as the #14 name for boys, and it ranked #87 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 384,679
- Named Arthur, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1881
- #14 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #87
- for boys in 2025 (3,847 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.4% boys
- 2,339 girls · 382,340 boys
- Most popular in
- Rhode Island
- 2.25× its national share
Peak year is the year Arthur made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Arthur births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Arthur peaked earlier, in 1881.
- Fastest rise: Between 2015 and 2020, Arthur became 2.1× more common, from 1 in 1,540 baby boys to 1 in 738.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Arthur's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Arthur.
Decade by decade
Babies named Arthur in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 422 | 46,139 | – |
| 1930s | 545 | 67,730 | #29 |
| 1940s | 361 | 73,968 | #34 |
| 1950s | 312 | 65,716 | #56 |
| 1960s | 288 | 39,622 | #96 |
| 1970s | 203 | 22,100 | #128 |
| 1980s | 157 | 16,794 | #158 |
| 1990s | 39 | 11,783 | #254 |
| 2000s | 0 | 8,342 | #356 |
| 2010s | 5 | 12,627 | #292 |
| 2020–25 | 7 | 17,519 | #87 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
33.6% of babies named Arthur from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Arthur is most popular
The index compares Arthur's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Arthur.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2.25× | 3,083 |
| Massachusetts | 1.98× | 18,194 |
| Maine | 1.90× | 3,128 |
| New Hampshire | 1.85× | 2,248 |
| Vermont | 1.78× | 1,146 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Arthur and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur (this page) | 382,340 | 1881 |
| Arther | 3,079 | 1909 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Arthur's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Arthur.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Arthur (1881).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data