Head to head · Boys' names
Alexander vs Anthony
#30 vs #46 in 2025
Alexander is a whisker ahead (#30 vs #46 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Alexander is stepping back from its peak, Anthony is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Anthony has the edge.
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, Alexander leads 3 measures of 6; Anthony leads 1.
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: Alexander #80, Anthony #95 — Alexander higher
- 1890s: Alexander #94, Anthony #79 — Anthony higher
- 1900s: Alexander #100, Anthony #51 — Anthony higher
- 1910s: Alexander #100, Anthony #38 — Anthony higher
- 1920s: Alexander #135, Anthony #41 — Anthony higher
- 1930s: Alexander #186, Anthony #47 — Anthony higher
- 1940s: Alexander #184, Anthony #43 — Anthony higher
- 1950s: Alexander #204, Anthony #31 — Anthony higher
- 1960s: Alexander #196, Anthony #22 — Anthony higher
- 1970s: Alexander #113, Anthony #21 — Anthony higher
- 1980s: Alexander #54, Anthony #20 — Anthony higher
- 1990s: Alexander #23, Anthony #18 — Anthony higher
- 2000s: Alexander #13, Anthony #10 — Anthony higher
- 2010s: Alexander #9, Anthony #24 — Alexander higher
- 2020s: Alexander #20, Anthony #44 — Alexander higher
Anthony stood higher in 12 of 15 decades; Alexander has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Alexander | Anthony |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #80 | #95 |
| 1890s | #94 | #79 |
| 1900s | #100 | #51 |
| 1910s | #100 | #38 |
| 1920s | #135 | #41 |
| 1930s | #186 | #47 |
| 1940s | #184 | #43 |
| 1950s | #204 | #31 |
| 1960s | #196 | #22 |
| 1970s | #113 | #21 |
| 1980s | #54 | #20 |
| 1990s | #23 | #18 |
| 2000s | #13 | #10 |
| 2010s | #9 | #24 |
| 2020s | #20 | #44 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Alexander
- Scotland#22
- England & Wales#36
- Canada#37
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
Alexander
defender of men
From Greek alexein, to ward off or defend, joined to aner (stem andr-), man. The two halves are visible in the name to this day.
Alexandros (Ancient Greek) → Alexander (Latin) → Alisaunder (Medieval English) → Alexander (Modern English)
How it traveled
The name is Greek, formed from ordinary Greek words, and appears in the Iliad as a second name for the Trojan prince Paris. Alexander III of Macedon carried it east in the fourth century BC, and in his wake it was given across the Hellenistic world, from Egypt to the edge of India.
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
Alexander
al-ig-ZAN-der
Stress on the third syllable. Some speakers say al-ex-AN-der with a clearer x; both are standard in American English.
- Alex — The default short form in English, informal but widely used on its own as a given name for both boys and girls.
- Xander — Clipped from the back of the name; now also registered as an independent given name in the US.
- Zander — Same short form respelled to match how it sounds; used independently too.
- Sasha — The standard Russian familiar form of Aleksandr, used for men and women alike in Russian; in English it reads mainly as a girl's name.
- Also Sandy, Lex.
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
Alexander
Alexander the Great (b. -356) — Conquered the known world by age 30
Alexander Hamilton (b. 1757) — The ten-dollar Founding Father of Broadway fame
Alexander Graham Bell (b. 1847) — Invented the telephone
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 Alexander if you want…
- a name most people already know#30 in 2025, 7,230 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsAlexander is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itAlexander runs 4 syllables, Anthony 3
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Alex, Xander and Zander
Choose Anthony if you want…
- a name fewer children share#46 in 2025 — anthony will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with fewer syllablesAnthony is 3 syllables to Alexander's 4
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
Alexander
Strengths
- Unusually rich in short forms — Alex, Xander, Zander, Sasha, Sandy — so the same name can be formal on a diploma and casual on a soccer roster.
- Spelled and recognized in dozens of languages, with close equivalents in Spanish, Italian, French, Russian and Arabic.
- Currently charts in Scotland, England & Wales and Canada as well as the US, so it travels without explanation.
To consider
- It is a genuinely common name, and has been for a long time. In many schools there will be another Alexander, or at least another Alex, in the building.
- Alex is so established that other people may reach for it before you do. If you want the full four syllables, expect to ask for them regularly.
- Nine letters is a lot for a small hand learning to sign a worksheet, though most children arrive at a short form long before that becomes a problem.
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.
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 Alexander 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 Alexander 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
- 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 Alexander and Anthony — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Alexander or Anthony — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Alexander or Anthony?
- Alexander, in 2025: Alexander ranked #30 with 7,230 babies; Anthony ranked #46 with 5,967 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Alexander or Anthony?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Alexander moved down 20 places; Anthony moved down 5 places.
- Which is the older name, Alexander or Anthony?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Alexander and Anthony?
- About 674,000 people named Alexander 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 Alexanders or Anthonys in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 9 classrooms will have a child named Alexander. 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
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Alexander, Anthony and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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