boy's name
Arturo
ar-TOO-roh
- Origin Italian
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 57,960
the United States
#627
2025 births
Arturo means bear, probably — but Arthur is one of the genuinely unsolved names, with a Celtic word for bear and a Roman family name both proposed and neither established. Sources state the bear reading with more confidence than the evidence carries.
- Arturo is a name of Italian origin.
- Peaked in 2005, when 1,093 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,434 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1898.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Arturo over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 6 |
| 1900s | 51 |
| 1910s | 389 |
| 1920s | 1,440 |
| 1930s | 1,450 |
| 1940s | 2,479 |
| 1950s | 4,214 |
| 1960s | 4,707 |
| 1970s | 6,282 |
| 1980s | 7,857 |
| 1990s | 10,305 |
| 2000s | 9,888 |
| 2010s | 5,421 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,802 |
What Arturo means
Arturo means bear on the likeliest reading, from a Celtic root. A derivation from the Roman family name Artorius is equally possible, and no source settles the question.
Where Arturo comes from
Arturo is the Italian and Spanish form of Arthur, whose origin is disputed. The leading candidate is the Celtic artos, a bear — the same root as the Welsh arth and the Greek arktos, which gives arctic, the region under the Bear constellation. The rival is the Roman gens name Artorius, of unknown meaning, which would fit a Romano-British war leader. The bear reading is the commoner claim online, but it is a preference rather than a finding.
Arturo in use
Arturo peaked in the United States in 2005, when 1,093 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 627th in the United States on 446 births, 2036th in England and Wales on 12 and 5428th in France on 5, across 57,960 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1898.
How popular is Arturo?
In 2025, Arturo was given to 446 babies in the United States, ranking #627 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Arturo is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Arturo
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Arturo also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Arturo over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Arturo in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Arturo
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Arturo — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Arturo
What does the name Arturo mean?
Bear on the likeliest reading, but the origin of Arthur is genuinely unsettled.
Is arctic related?
Through the Greek arktos, a bear — the region under the Bear constellation.
What is the rival theory?
The Roman family name Artorius, itself of unknown meaning.
How popular is Arturo?
627th in the United States, down from a 2005 peak of 1,093 births.
Is Arturo a girl's or a boy's name?
Arturo is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Arturo?
Arturo has 3 syllables.
Is Arturo a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Arturo currently ranks #627 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.