I 2001 ønskede naboerne Alex Turner og Jamie Cook sig instrumenter i julegave, og begge fik en el-guitar. Efter at have lært sig selv at spille, dannede parret i 2002 et orkester med Turners skolekammerat Andy Nicholson og Matt Helders. Nicholson spillede allerede bas, Matt Helders endte bag trommerne — "''that was all that were left...they all had guitars so I bought a drum kit after a bit''". Skønt det er blevet rapporteret, at de navngav bandet efter Helders' onkel, indrømmede Helders senere, at dette var usandt, hvorefter han hævdede, at "''we made that up ‘cause we got so many people asking us that in the UK, so we just started making stories up",'' og at ''"han ikke nænnede at fortælle de rapportere, at han havde løjet".'' Jamie Cook kom med idéen i skolen før bandet eksisterede. Ifølge Helders fordi ''"he just always wanted to be in a band called Arctic Monkeys. Which is a cool name."''
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