Anthony
Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the Antonii, a gens to which Mark Antony belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles. Anthony is an English name that is in use in many countries.
Meaning & Origin of Anthony
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the Antonii, a gens to which Mark Antony belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles. Anthony is an English name that is in use in many countries.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Anthony
Anthony first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 130 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1990, when 25,087 Anthonys were born — ranking #15 that year. As of 2026, Anthony ranks #41 for baby boys with 6,092 births, falling sharply (-18%). In total, more than 1.5M Anthonys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Notable people named Anthony
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- Anthony I, Count of Oldenburg
- Anthony, King of Saxony
- Anthony of Kiev , monk and the founder of the monastic tradition in Kievan Rus'
- Anthony of Padua , Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order
- Anthony of Sourozh , Russian orthodox bishop and theological monk
- Anthony the Great , Egyptian Christian monk and hermit
- Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury , English politician and founder of the Whig party
- Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury , English peer, Whig politician, philosopher and writer
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Anthony
Phonetically similar names — useful when Anthony is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Anthony
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About the name Anthony
Anthony is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 1.5M births in the dataset. Anthony's peak popularity came in 1990 when it ranked #7. Use the chart and map above to compare Anthony's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1990 →
- Names of the 1990s →
- Names starting with "A" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.