Artis
A feminine name of Latvian origin meaning "industrious, diligent".
Name Census estimates that about 3,474 living Americans carry the first name Artis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 84.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Artis today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Artis births was 1950 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Artis. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Artis with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.5K
~ 1 in 98,663 Americans
Peak year
1950
122 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,885
Tracked since 1900
Census
Artis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,805 people with the first name Artis, which placed it at #5,905 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,905
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,805 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
75.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Artis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Artis is Black at 75.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Artis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Artis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American75.4% · 2,116
- White18.1% · 507
- Two or more races3.3% · 93
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Gender
Gender distribution for Artis
Artis leans heavily male at 84.8% of total registrations, but 958 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Artis as a male name
- Ranked #4,885 in 2024
- 20 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1951 (103 births)
Artis as a female name
- Ranked #12,302 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1948 (31 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Artis leans strongly male. 2,331 people counted with this name were male (83.1%), compared with 474 female bearers (16.9%).
Popularity
Artis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Artis from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,045 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Artis 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 Artis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Artis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 19 states and territories. Georgia, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Artis, while Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 142 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Artis
The name Artis originates from the Latvian language and culture, tracing its roots back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the ancient Baltic word "artājs," which means "plowman" or "farmer." This association with agriculture and the land reflects the agrarian traditions of the Latvian people.
In historical records, the earliest known use of the name Artis can be found in the chronicles of the Livonian Order, a Catholic military order that played a significant role in the region during the Crusades. These chronicles mention several individuals bearing this name, indicating its widespread use among the local population.
One of the most notable figures in Latvian history associated with the name Artis was Artis Bremzkalns, a prominent 16th-century nobleman and landowner. He was a influential figure in the region and played a crucial role in the resistance against the Livonian Order's attempts to subjugate the local population.
Another noteworthy individual was Artis Daudzvārds, a renowned 17th-century poet and playwright from Riga. His works celebrated Latvian folklore and cultural traditions, contributing to the preservation of the country's literary heritage.
In the realm of art, Artis Krievs was a celebrated 19th-century Latvian painter known for his vibrant landscapes and depictions of rural life. His works are considered important representations of the Latvian national identity and can be found in various museums across the country.
Moving into the 20th century, Artis Āboltiņš was a prominent Latvian athlete who excelled in track and field events, particularly the discus throw. He represented Latvia in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won a silver medal, becoming a national hero and a source of pride for the country.
Throughout its long history, the name Artis has been a cherished part of Latvian culture, reflecting the nation's deep connection to the land and its agricultural roots. While its popularity may have ebbed and flowed over time, it remains a significant name that carries a rich heritage and cultural significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Artis
People
Artis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Artis 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
Artis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Artis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,474 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Artis 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 98,663 US residents.
Is Artis a common name?
We classify Artis as "Rare". It ranks above 95.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,315 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Artis most popular?
The single biggest year for Artis was 1950, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Artis is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Artis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,805 people with the name Artis, or 0.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,905 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Artis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Artis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Artis leans strongly male. 2,331 people counted with this name were male (83.1%), compared with 474 female bearers (16.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Artis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Artis is Black at 75.4%. The next largest groups are White (18.1%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Artis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Artis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (2,116 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Artis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Artis a male name?
Yes, 84.8% of people registered as Artis 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.
Is Artis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Artis in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Artis can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many Americans are named Artis?
See how many Americans are named Artis on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.