From Greek 'Artemis,' the goddess of the hunt; means 'gift of Artemis.' Appears in the New Testament.
Artemas is a masculine given name derived from the Greek Ἀρτεμᾶς, itself a contracted form of Artemidoros, meaning "gift of Artemis" — the goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild places. Artemis was one of the most widely worshipped deities in the ancient Greek world, and names invoking her blessing were considered auspicious. The masculine form Artemas therefore carried connotations of divine favor, swiftness, and connection to the natural world.
In the New Testament, Artemas appears briefly but memorably in Paul's letter to Titus (3:12), where Paul mentions sending either Artemas or Tychicus to Crete. Early Christian communities embraced the name, and it appears in martyrologies across the Eastern church. The spelling variant Artemus gained particular currency in nineteenth-century America, most famously through the pen name of humorist Charles Farrar Browne, who wrote as "Artemus Ward" — a wildly popular comic journalist whose satirical columns influenced Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln alike.
Artemas has never been a mainstream name, which is precisely part of its appeal. It offers the classical weight of mythology and scripture without the ubiquity of names like Augustus or Alexander. The soft third syllable gives it an unexpectedly gentle cadence for a name rooted in divine hunting prowess. Contemporary revival of unusual classical names has brought Artemas cautious renewed attention — a name for parents who want history, mythology, and individuality in a single word.