Anthony Name Meaning, Origins & History

Anthony

Pronunciation: AN-tuh-nee / AN-thuh-nee

Meaning Possibly Beyond price Origin Latin Gender Boy
BOYS RANK
#46
TREND
2
GIRLS RANK
#9,515
TREND
870

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of boys named Anthony in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Anthony

  • A favorite across generations: Anthony stayed in the U.S. top 100 every year from 1880 through 2025 - 146 consecutive years.
  • An all-time favorite: U.S. records show 1,487,953 boys named Anthony from 1880 through 2025.
  • Back among the favorites: Anthony returned to the U.S. top 100 in 1883 and stayed there for 143 consecutive years, through 2025.
  • Still popular, but losing ground: Anthony's rank fell 27 places between 1995 and 2025, while remaining in the top 100.
  • More than 1 million babies named Anthony: U.S. records list 1,495,067 babies given the name Anthony from 1880 through 2025. Even 7,114 girls received the name Anthony - about 1 girl for every 209 boys.

What Does the Name Anthony Mean?

Anthony is the English form of the Latin family name Antonius, the name of the Roman gens Antonia. The origin of Antonius itself is not known with certainty. It is often called Etruscan, because a number of old Roman family names came from Etruscan, but no Etruscan word has been identified as its source.

An older explanation connects the name to the Greek word anthos, meaning "flower." That link is a later interpretation rather than a demonstrated derivation, and the similar sound is the main thing behind it. Because the root is unresolved, the name has no firmly established literal meaning.

Anthony Name History & Origins

Antonius was one of the oldest recorded Roman family names. Its best-known bearer in the ancient world was Marcus Antonius, the general and triumvir known in English as Mark Antony, who lived in the first century B.C. The name passed into the languages of medieval Europe through Latin, and its forms in those languages descend from Antonius rather than from one another.

Two Christian saints are the most prominent early bearers. Anthony of Egypt, a hermit who died in the fourth century, was the subject of a biography by Athanasius that circulated widely in a Latin translation and helped fix the name in Christian usage. Anthony of Padua, a Portuguese Franciscan who died in 1231, is another major figure of the same name.

English acquired the name from Old French Antoine. The spelling Anthony with an h appeared later, added by scholars who linked the name to Greek anthos. The h never matched the spoken word: the standard English pronunciation keeps the t sound of the Latin and French forms. The shorter spelling Antony is also used in English and is the usual form for the Roman general.

Related forms in other languages include Italian and Spanish Antonio, French Antoine, German Anton, and the feminine Antonia. These are separate developments of the same Latin name, not borrowings of the English one.

How Popular is the Name Anthony?

Anthony ranked among the top 100 U.S. names from 1881 through 1881, then returned in 1883 and remained through 2025.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Famous People Named Anthony

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How the Name Anthony Shapes Your Personality and Life?

Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.

You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.

✦ Anthony's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Anthony's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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