Some male Arthurian names have become popular but many of them are too long, and hard to pronounce and "medieval sounding" to have any attraction for people nowadays. However there are a few that are still liked. The name Arthur is still popular and was very much more so in Victorian times. The Arthurian legends were a big part of Victorian literary and artistic culture. Most Pre Raphaelite painters used the stories as subjects for their work and Tennyson’s Idylls of the King cycle of poems was massively popular.
The name’s meaning is obscure however. It may be from the Celtic word Artos meaning Bear or possibly, since Arthur may have been descended from Roman stock, it may be from the clan name Artorius…
It can be abbreviated to Art or Artie… and is still used. In the Victorian era, the Duke of Wellington was called Arthur, which promulgated the use of the name. He was the godfather to Arthur Duke of Connaught, one of Queen Victoria’s sons…
Lancelot is the faulty knight who in spite of great talents and virtues, is unable to resist his love for Guenevere, Arthur’s queen. His name is also obscure, it may be derived from L’ancelle, meaning “servant” or it may be a Celtic name which has been altered beyond recognition through the French language. It is less popular than Arthur but in modern times the variant Lance has been used.
One of Arthur’s nephews is Gawain who is a hero in his own right. Although Gawain is supposed to be from Scotland, the name is Welsh in origin. It is probably dervied from Gwalchmai meaning Hawk of May… However in modern times the Scottish version Gavin has been very popular.
Geraint and Gareth are also names of Arthur’s knights, and may come from the same origin possibly meaning “old”…
One of the less attractive knights in the story is “Sir Kay”, who is in most versions Arthur’s foster brother. Kay is something of a bully… But his name may come from the Roman name Caius which has been occasionally used in recent years.
M/F
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