Arther
Masculine
Arther is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 4,993 boys against 47 girls since 1880.
Nobody knows what Arthur means or whether he existed. The earliest mention is a ninth-century Welsh text that lists twelve battles he won and says nothing else about him, and four hundred years of scholarship have not settled either question.
How old is the name Arther?
Arther was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Arther alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 1,100 people named Arther are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arther most popular?
Arther peaked in 1884, reaching #375 nationally. Today it ranks #12008, 11,633 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Arthur to Arther
The story of Arther
The Historia Brittonum, compiled around 830, calls Arthur a war leader rather than a king and lists twelve battles including one at a place called Badon. That is the whole of the early evidence, and it was written three centuries after the events it describes. Everything else — the round table, the sword, Camelot, Lancelot, the grail — was added between the twelfth century and the fifteenth, mostly in French. The Artorius reading has the advantage of being a name that genuinely existed in Roman Britain; the bear reading has the advantage of being Welsh, which is where the earliest sources are. The spelling with an -er ending is an American variant of the last two centuries and follows how the name is actually said.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Three readings compete and none has been established: the Roman family name Artorius, which was real and is attested in Britain; Welsh arth, a bear, with a second element; and an Irish derivation. The name is older than any of the explanations offered for it.
How the name formed
- Arthur
- Arther
Related forms: Arthur · Arthur
Pronouncing Arther
AR-thur
Two syllables, stress on the first. Arthur and Arther are said identically; the second syllable is reduced to almost nothing, which is why the vowel can be spelled either way.
Nicknames for Arther
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1923122 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #375reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- 0.0%5 in 2025, from 5
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.
Arther in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Arthur in Welsh — same name
- Arthur in French — same name
Arthers among us
people named Arther are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 341,615 born in 2025 was named Arther
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
Arther 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
Arther beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Arther in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables and a spelling that records how the name is actually said.
- Art and Artie both work as short forms and one serves either child.
- One of the largest bodies of literature in Europe stands behind the name.
- Arthur is the standard spelling and this one will be read as an error rather than a choice.
- There is no established meaning, which matters if the meaning is why you chose it.
- It is strongly represented among the oldest generations and reads clearly as of that time.
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What they receive
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Arther
Masculine · #12008 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Arthers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Arther are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arther in 2025?
- Arther ranks #12008 among US boy names in 2025, with 5 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Arther?
- About 1 in every 341,615 US boys born in 2025 was named Arther — 5 in all.
- Will my child share the name Arther with classmates?
- Arther will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Arther
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Garfield#12008 · Chas#12008 · Lew#12008 · Barney#12008 · Dewitt#12008 · Granville#12008 · Cicero#12008 · Willam#12008
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arther? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arther and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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