Artha
Feminine · “purpose”
Artha is given to both — 548 girls and 117 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Artha exists twice over. In America it appeared at the end of the nineteenth century as a feminine made from Arthur, the way Georgia was made from George and Roberta from Robert. In Sanskrit it is an ordinary and important word — one of the four aims a life is supposed to balance, the one covering purpose, prosperity and the means of living.
How old is the name Artha?
Artha first appears in US birth records in 1895 — 130 years ago. The typical Artha alive today was born around 1931, making them about 94 years old. About 200 people named Artha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Artha most popular?
Artha peaked in 1895, reaching #1426 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 11,782 places below that high. See the whole 1895 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Arthur to Artha
The story of Artha
American naming in the nineteenth century produced feminines from men's names on an industrial scale — Alberta, Wilhelmina, Josephine, Clarence for daughters, Artha from Arthur. Most of that crop is gone now. What makes this one worth a second look is that the same letters carry real weight elsewhere: Sanskrit philosophy uses artha as a technical term, and the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft written more than two thousand years ago, is named for it. The two have nothing to do with each other, and both are true.
Meaningscholars disagree
purpose, the means of living
Two entirely separate readings. The Sanskrit artha means aim, purpose, wealth or the material basis of a life; it is one of the four purusharthas, alongside duty, pleasure and liberation. The American name is more likely a feminine built from Arthur, whose own origin is disputed — the bear is the usual proposal. A child with this name may be carrying either, and the American record strongly suggests the second.
How the name formed
- Arthur
- Artha
Related forms: Artha
Pronouncing Artha
AR-thuh
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the soft th of think. Sanskrit gives it a slightly different consonant and puts more weight on the first vowel, but the American saying has been settled since the name appeared.
Nicknames for Artha
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1895
- Most girls named
- 192223 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1426reached in 1895
- Change vs 1973
- −25.0%6 in 2025, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Artha in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Artha in Sanskrit — related form
Arthas among us
people named Artha are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Artha
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Artha sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Artha beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Artha in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Five letters, two syllables, and no possible mispronunciation for an English speaker.
- It has one clean American history and one substantial Sanskrit one, which is unusual.
- Thea is available as a short form and is entirely current.
- It is used for boys as well as girls in the record, though nearly all are girls.
- It belongs to a generation of made feminines, most of which sound dated now.
- Art, the obvious short form, reads as a man's name to nearly everyone.
- The Sanskrit meaning is real but almost certainly not the family's, so claiming it would be a small dishonesty.
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Artha
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arthas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Artha are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Artha in 2025?
- Artha ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Artha?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Artha — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Artha with classmates?
- Artha will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Artha
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
John#13208 · Vinnie#13208 · Margery#13208 · Jossie#13208 · Tressa#13208 · Erie#13208 · Bernadine#13208 · Euna#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Artha? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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