Art
A masculine name derived from the Middle English word signifying a skilful trade or craft.
Name Census estimates that about 3,529 living Americans carry the first name Art. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Art today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Art births was 1961 (190 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Art. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 97,125 Americans
Peak year
1961
190 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,885
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Art
Out of the 6,113 babies given the name Art since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Art as a male name
- Ranked #3,885 in 2024
- 28 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (190 births)
Art as a female name
- Ranked #4,869 in 1918
- 5 female births in 1918
- Peak: 1918 (5 births)
Popularity
Art: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Art from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,124 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Art by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Art during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Arts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. California, Illinois, Texas recorded the most babies named Art, while New Mexico, Montana, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 104 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Art
The name Art is an English diminutive form of the name Arthur, which has its origins in the Celtic British tradition. The name Arthur is derived from the Brittonic words 'arth' meaning 'bear' and 'ur' meaning 'man' or 'warrior'. Together, these words form the meaning 'bear-man' or 'bear-warrior'.
Art as a given name emerged as a shortened version of Arthur during the Middle Ages, particularly in England. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Art dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230.
The name Art gained significant prominence due to its association with the legendary King Arthur of Britain, a figure whose exploits were widely celebrated in medieval literature and folklore. The Arthurian legends, which began to circulate in the 12th century, popularized the name and contributed to its widespread use.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Art. One of the earliest recorded figures was Art mac Cuinn, a 7th-century King of Munster in Ireland, who reigned from 620 to 625 AD. In the literary realm, Art Buchwald (1925-2007) was an American humorist and satirist who gained fame for his witty and insightful columns in The Washington Post.
In the world of sports, Art Shires (1923-2008) was an American professional baseball player who played for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox in the 1940s and 1950s. Art Modell (1925-2012) was an influential American businessman and former owner of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens football teams.
Another notable figure was Art Tatum (1909-1956), an American jazz pianist who was widely regarded as one of the greatest virtuoso performers in the history of jazz. His innovative and technically brilliant playing had a profound influence on the development of modern jazz piano.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Art, a diminutive form of the venerable Arthur, with roots in the Celtic tradition and a rich legacy spanning centuries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Art
People
Art + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Art as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Art: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Art?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,529 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Art going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 97,125 US residents.
Is Art a common name?
We classify Art as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Art most popular?
The single biggest year for Art was 1961, when 190 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Art is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Art a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Art in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.