How popular is the baby name Arthur in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Arthur.

The graph will take a few seconds to load, thanks for your patience. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take nine months.) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the Baby Name Arthur


Posts that Mention the Name Arthur

Popular Baby Names in Belgium, 2018

According to data from Statistics Belgium, the country’s most popular baby names in 2018 were Emma and Arthur.

Here are Belgium’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 608 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 554
  3. Louise, 545
  4. Mila, 536
  5. Alice, 422
  6. Juliette, 373
  7. Elena, 369 (tied)
  8. Marie, 369 (tied)
  9. Sofia, 368
  10. Lina, 362

Boy Names

  1. Arthur, 565 baby boys
  2. Noah, 553
  3. Adam, 548
  4. Louis, 547
  5. Liam, 539
  6. Lucas, 519
  7. Jules, 509
  8. Victor, 476
  9. Gabriel, 429
  10. Mohamed, 420

In the girls’ top 10, Elena and Marie replace Elise and Lucie.

The boys’ top 10 includes the same 10 names, but in a different order.

In 2017, the top names were Emma and Liam.

Source: First names for boys and girls – Statbel

What Would You Name the Catfish-Riding Boy?

little boy, large catfish, old photo, texas, 1940s

This might be my favorite photo on the entire internet.

The shot, which depicts a playful little Texas boy pretending to ride a dead catfish on someone’s front porch, was taken by photographer Neal Douglass in April of 1941.

The Portal to Texas History calls it “Mrs. Bill Wright; Boy Riding Catfish.” So I’m guessing that “Mrs. Bill Wright” was the boy’s mother. But there’s no other identifying information, so I don’t know the boy’s name, nor do I have any way of tracking it down.

So let’s turn this into a name game!

First, let’s suppose our little catfish-rider was not named “Bill” (or “William,” or “Willie,” etc.) after his father. With that rule in place, here are the questions:

  • What do you think Mrs. Bill Wright named her son?
  • What would you have named him?

Just for reference, popular names for Texas newborns in the late ’30s included:

Albert
Arthur
Carl/Charles
Clarence
Daniel
David
Don/Donald
Edward/Eddie
Ernest
Frank		 Fred
Gary
Gene/Eugene
George
Gerald
Harold
Henry
Jack
James
Jerry		 Jesse
Jesus
Jimmie/Jimmy
Joe/Joseph
John/Johnny
Jose
Juan
Kenneth
Larry
Louis		 Manuel
Melvin
Paul
Raymond
Richard
Robert/Bobby
Ronald
Roy
Thomas/Tommy
Walter

For extra credit, what do you think the boy named his catfish? And, what would you have named his catfish? ;)

(If you like this game, here’s a similar one from years ago: What Would You Name the Two Frenchmen?)

Popular Baby Names in Oxfordshire, 2018

According to Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service, the most popular baby names in Oxfordshire, England, in 2018 were Olivia and Oliver.

Here are Oxfordshire’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2018:

Girl Names
1. Olivia
2. Isabella
3. Amelia
4. Florence
5. Lily
6. Evelyn
7. Isla
8. Emilia
9. Sophie
10. Ava

Boy Names
1. Oliver
2. George
3. Oscar
4. Jacob
5. William
6. Jack
7. Benjamin
8. Joshua
9. Charlie
10. Henry

In the girls’ top 10, Evelyn, Emilia, and Sophie replace Poppy, Emily, and Evie.

In the boys’ top 10, William, Joshua, and Charlie replace Arthur, Alfie, and Muhammed.

The registrar also made note of the rise in hyphenated first names (for the second year in a row, actually).

In 2017, the top names in the county were Lily and Oliver.

Source: Oxfordshire’s most popular baby names revealed

P.S. Did you know that the Oxfordshire government offers naming ceremonies to residents? Pretty cool.

Real-Life “Snow-” Names: Snowman, Snowball, Snowflake…

snow names, snowflake, snowman, snowdrift, snowstorm, snowball

How about something whimsical for Christmas day?

I searched historical records for personal names including the word “snow,” and here’s some of what I spotted…

Snowball

I found dozens of people named Snowball, including Snowball Craddock (female), born in 1915 in North Carolina. Here she is on the 1930 U.S. Census:

snowball, 1930 census

Snowdrift

I found several people named Snowdrift, including Arthur Snowdrift Thornton (male), born in 1883 in Virginia.

Snowflake

I found dozens people named Snowflake, including Snowflake Reinke (female), born in 1907 in North Dakota. Here she is on the 1910 U.S. Census:

snowflake, 1910 census

Notice how her older siblings have traditional names like Maria and Ludwig (their parents were immigrants from Germany) whereas she and her younger brother, “Theo. Roosevelt,” have much more creative/American names.

(By the way, did you that there’s a town in Arizona with the unlikely name Snowflake? The founders were a pair of Mormon pioneers named Erastus Snow and William Jordan Flake.)

Snowman

I found dozens people named Snowman, including Snowman W. Doe (male), born in 1924 in Massachusetts. Here he is on the 1930 U.S. Census:

snowman, 1930 census

Snowstorm

I found several people named Snowstorm, including Snow Storm Stokes (male), born in 1906 in Arkansas.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Popular Baby Names in Belgium, 2017

According to data from Statistics Belgium, the country’s most popular baby names in 2017 were Emma and Liam.

Here are Belgium’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 634 baby girls
2. Olivia, 613
3. Louise, 595
4. Mila, 522
5. Alice, 423
6. Elise, 386
7. Lina, 375
8. Juliette, 364 (tie)
9. Sofia, 364 (tie)
10. Lucie, 350

Boy Names
1. Liam, 570 baby boys
2. Adam, 559
3. Arthur, 546
4. Noah, 545
5. Louis, 536
6. Lucas, 497
7. Jules, 462
8. Gabriel, 427
9. Victor, 422
10. Mohamed, 392

The #1 names within each of Belgium’s three regions were:

  • Brussels: Lina and Adam
  • Flanders: Louise and Liam
  • Wallonia: Emma and Gabriel

I forgot to post Belgium’s 2016 rankings, but in 2015 the top names overall were Emma and Louis.

Source: Prénoms filles et garçons