FastNamesAnthony
Latin and Greek name meaning "Derived from the Roman gens name Antonius, of uncertain Etruscan origin; historically associated with Greek anthos ('flower') which prompted the intrusive 'h' spelling.". Ranked 46th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Anthony
Derived from the Roman gens name Antonius, of uncertain Etruscan origin; historically associated with Greek anthos ('flower') which prompted the intrusive 'h' spelling.
Linguistically, Anthony is classified under Latin and Greek naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "AN-thuh-nee".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Anthony has been given to a total of 1,488,042 boys. It has also been given to 7,114 girls.
Peak year: Anthony reached its highest relative share among boys in 1987, when 23,127 babies received the name (12,387 per million births).
All-time best rank: 7th place, first achieved in 2007.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 46th with 5,967 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 25th (down 21 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Anthony in the 1990s than in any other decade (216,231 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,611 |
| 1890s | 2,453 |
| 1900s | 5,043 |
| 1910s | 35,627 |
| 1920s | 50,054 |
| 1930s | 42,546 |
| 1940s | 64,825 |
| 1950s | 136,647 |
| 1960s | 203,159 |
| 1970s | 174,873 |
| 1980s | 211,861 |
| 1990s | 216,231 |
| 2000s | 191,928 |
| 2010s | 112,151 |
| 2020s | 39,033 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Anthony is most common in the US
Accounting for when Anthony was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Jersey: 1.8 times the national rate (74,581 births since 1910).
- Rhode Island: 1.8 times the national rate (9,535 births since 1910).
- New York: 1.7 times the national rate (195,094 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.6 times the national rate (25,803 births since 1910).
- Nevada: 1.5 times the national rate (8,522 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Anthony?
About 1,208,000 living American boys and men share the name Anthony. Additionally, an estimated 6,000 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Anthony is 39 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Anthony
Anthony derives from the venerable Roman patrician family name Antonius, famously borne by the triumvir and general Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony, 83–30 BC). During the Renaissance, scholars mistakenly associated Antonius with the ancient Greek noun anthos, meaning 'flower', leading to the insertion of the letter 'h' into English and Dutch spellings while Romance languages preserved Antony, Antonio, and Antoine.
The name's enduring global prestige was established by two towering Christian saints: Saint Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), an Egyptian ascetic celebrated as the father of Christian monasticism, and Saint Anthony of Padua (1195–1231), the Portuguese-born Franciscan friar and doctor of the church revered as the patron saint of lost things. His immense popularity across southern Europe and the Americas permanently anchored the name across Latin and Catholic cultures.
In United States demographic history, Anthony has been an American classic for over 140 years. It has never dropped below rank 80 in any year since national recordkeeping began in 1880. Driven by widespread adoption among Italian-American, Hispanic, and Catholic families, Anthony climbed into the national top ten in the early 2000s, peaking at rank 7 in 2007 and 2008 with over 20,000 newborn boys per year.
Notable people named Anthony
- Anthony Hopkins (1937–), Welsh actor and two-time Academy Award winner
- Anthony Fauci (1940–), American physician-scientist and immunologist
- Anthony Bourdain (1956–2018), American celebrity chef, author, and documentarian
- Anthony Eden (1897–1977), British Prime Minister and statesman
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 17.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 25.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.