Head to head · Boys' names
Aiden vs Anthony
#62 vs #46 in 2025
Anthony is a whisker ahead (#46 vs #62 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Anthony is holding its place on the charts, Aiden is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Anthony leads 5 measures of 6; Aiden leads 0.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Aiden —, Anthony #95 — Anthony higher
- 1890s: Aiden —, Anthony #79 — Anthony higher
- 1900s: Aiden —, Anthony #51 — Anthony higher
- 1910s: Aiden —, Anthony #38 — Anthony higher
- 1920s: Aiden —, Anthony #41 — Anthony higher
- 1930s: Aiden —, Anthony #47 — Anthony higher
- 1940s: Aiden —, Anthony #43 — Anthony higher
- 1950s: Aiden —, Anthony #31 — Anthony higher
- 1960s: Aiden —, Anthony #22 — Anthony higher
- 1970s: Aiden #4807, Anthony #21 — Anthony higher
- 1980s: Aiden #4922, Anthony #20 — Anthony higher
- 1990s: Aiden #1455, Anthony #18 — Anthony higher
- 2000s: Aiden #95, Anthony #10 — Anthony higher
- 2010s: Aiden #14, Anthony #24 — Aiden higher
- 2020s: Aiden #38, Anthony #44 — Aiden higher
Anthony stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Aiden has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Aiden | Anthony |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #95 |
| 1890s | — | #79 |
| 1900s | — | #51 |
| 1910s | — | #38 |
| 1920s | — | #41 |
| 1930s | — | #47 |
| 1940s | — | #43 |
| 1950s | — | #31 |
| 1960s | — | #22 |
| 1970s | #4807 | #21 |
| 1980s | #4922 | #20 |
| 1990s | #1455 | #18 |
| 2000s | #95 | #10 |
| 2010s | #14 | #24 |
| 2020s | #38 | #44 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Aiden
- Canada#54
Anthony
- Canada#89
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Aiden
Little fire, from Irish Aodh, 'fire'
Aodh was a common early Irish given name meaning 'fire'; Aodhán adds the diminutive ending -án, giving the sense of 'little fire' or 'fiery one'.
Áed → Aodh → Aodhán → Aidan → Aiden
How it traveled
The root is the Old Irish name Aodh (earlier Áed), which appears repeatedly in Irish genealogies and annals, and its pet form Aodhán. The best-known early bearer was Aidan of Lindisfarne, the seventh-century Irish monk sent from Iona to Northumbria, whose cult carried the name into English-speaking Britain.
Anthony
No established meaning; the Roman name behind it has never been decoded
Anthony descends from the Latin family name Antonius, borne by the gens Antonia of Rome. Its origin is generally thought to be Etruscan rather than Latin, and Etruscan is only partly understood, so no meaning can be given. The popular gloss 'priceless' or 'flower' comes from the inserted h and a mistaken link to Greek anthos, 'flower' — an error in etymology, though a very old and well-loved one.
Antonius → Antony → Anthony
How it traveled
The name begins as a Roman clan name, Antonius, carried most famously by Marcus Antonius in the last century of the Republic. Christianity gave it a second life: Anthony the Great, the Egyptian hermit of the third and fourth centuries, and Anthony of Padua, the thirteenth-century Franciscan preacher, made it one of the standard baptismal names of Catholic Europe.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Aiden
AY-den
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Irish Aodhán is closer to AY-dawn or EY-thawn depending on dialect, so relatives with Irish Gaelic may say it differently.
- Aidy — Informal short form long used in Ireland and Britain for Aidan; also spelled Aidey.
- Aid — Clipped, informal, mostly spoken rather than written.
- A.J. — Initial nickname where the middle name supplies the second letter; used across many A- names, not specific to this one.
Anthony
AN-thuh-nee
Standard in the United States. In Britain and Australia the h is often silent — AN-tuh-nee — and both are correct for the same spelling, so expect to state your preference occasionally.
- Tony — The default short form for centuries, and long established as a standalone given name in its own right.
- Ant — Informal, mostly among friends and teammates; more common in British and Australian usage.
- Tone — Casual, affectionate, used within families and close circles rather than in introductions.
- Anth — Informal written shorthand, common in texts and among younger speakers.
Who has carried each name
Aiden
No documented entry for Aiden yet.
Anthony
Anthony Hopkins (b. 1937) — Two-time Oscar winner, unforgettable as Hannibal Lecter
Anthony Bourdain (b. 1956) — The chef who took America around the world
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Aiden if you want…
- a name fewer children share#62 in 2025 — aiden will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsAiden is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesAiden is 2 syllables to Anthony's 3
- a newer arrivalAiden entered the US charts in 1970
Choose Anthony if you want…
- a name most people already know#46 in 2025, 5,967 babies that year
- a name with more sound in itAnthony runs 3 syllables, Aiden 2
- a long American recordAnthony was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 83% for Aiden
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Aiden
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers, and short enough to fit on any form.
- A documented line running back to early medieval Ireland, with the seventh-century Aidan of Lindisfarne as its best-known early bearer.
- Two clear syllables that survive most accents intact, and it charts in Canada as well as the United States.
To consider
- The -aden sound is shared with Jayden, Kayden, Brayden and Hayden, so mishearings over the phone are common even when the spelling is clear.
- Aidan, Ayden and Aden all circulate, which means a lifetime of confirming which one. Aidan is the older Irish form if that matters to you.
- The name is strongly weighted toward children and teenagers rather than adults, so it may read as distinctly of one generation for a while yet.
Anthony
Strengths
- An unbroken record in English since the Middle Ages, and used steadily by every generation since American records began.
- Tony is a ready-made short form that needs no explaining, and works from playground to boardroom.
- Recognizable across languages: Antonio, Antoine, Anton and Antoni are all the same name to relatives abroad.
To consider
- The h is silent for many speakers and not for others, so the name has two accepted pronunciations and your child may correct people occasionally.
- Antony, without the h, is the older spelling and still in use — some people will default to it in writing.
- Tony will arrive whether you invite it or not. If you want the full three syllables used, say so early and often.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Aiden
83%chance Aiden feels dated by 2040
Aiden is coming down from a big peak (#9 in 2010). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
Anthony
12%chance Anthony feels dated by 2040
Anthony has held the top-100 across 15 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Aiden and Anthony in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Aiden and Anthony?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
- Distinctly American names
- America's top 100 names right now
- The top-10 club: every name that made it
- Vowel names: soft starts from A to O
- all guides
Every list here names both Aiden and Anthony — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Aiden or Anthony — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Aiden or Anthony?
- Anthony, in 2025: Anthony ranked #46 with 5,967 babies; Aiden ranked #62 with 5,046 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Aiden or Anthony?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Aiden moved down 38 places; Anthony moved down 5 places.
- Which is the older name, Aiden or Anthony?
- Aiden entered the US charts in 1970; Anthony was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Anthony is the older name.
- How many people are named Aiden and Anthony?
- About 255,000 people named Aiden are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 1,218,000 people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Aidens or Anthonys in the classroom?
- Aiden will almost certainly be the only one in school. Anthony will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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