Head to head · Boys' names
Anthony vs Carter
#46 vs #45 in 2025
Carter is a whisker ahead (#45 vs #46 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Carter 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, Anthony leads 3 measures of 6; Carter leads 2.
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: Anthony #95, Carter #528 — Anthony higher
- 1890s: Anthony #79, Carter #565 — Anthony higher
- 1900s: Anthony #51, Carter #533 — Anthony higher
- 1910s: Anthony #38, Carter #617 — Anthony higher
- 1920s: Anthony #41, Carter #686 — Anthony higher
- 1930s: Anthony #47, Carter #651 — Anthony higher
- 1940s: Anthony #43, Carter #549 — Anthony higher
- 1950s: Anthony #31, Carter #578 — Anthony higher
- 1960s: Anthony #22, Carter #661 — Anthony higher
- 1970s: Anthony #21, Carter #747 — Anthony higher
- 1980s: Anthony #20, Carter #735 — Anthony higher
- 1990s: Anthony #18, Carter #344 — Anthony higher
- 2000s: Anthony #10, Carter #91 — Anthony higher
- 2010s: Anthony #24, Carter #31 — Anthony higher
- 2020s: Anthony #44, Carter #43 — Carter higher
Anthony stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Carter took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anthony | Carter |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #95 | #528 |
| 1890s | #79 | #565 |
| 1900s | #51 | #533 |
| 1910s | #38 | #617 |
| 1920s | #41 | #686 |
| 1930s | #47 | #651 |
| 1940s | #43 | #549 |
| 1950s | #31 | #578 |
| 1960s | #22 | #661 |
| 1970s | #21 | #747 |
| 1980s | #20 | #735 |
| 1990s | #18 | #344 |
| 2000s | #10 | #91 |
| 2010s | #24 | #31 |
| 2020s | #44 | #43 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Anthony
- Canada#89
Carter
- Canada#68
- Scotland#79
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Carter
cart driver; one who transports goods by cart
carrus (Latin, from Gaulish) → carte (Old North French) → cartere (Middle English) → Carter (English surname) → Carter (given name)
How it traveled
The word behind it is Middle English cartere, a carter — someone who drove or made carts — from carte, which reached English through Old North French from Latin carrus, itself borrowed from Gaulish. Occupational bynames like this hardened into hereditary surnames across England in the medieval centuries, and Carter became one of the commonest of them, alongside Smith, Baker and Turner.
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
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.
Carter
KAR-tur
Stress on the first syllable. In non-rhotic accents — much of England, parts of the American South — both r's soften, closer to KAH-tuh, but the name is understood everywhere without correction.
- Cart — The plainest shortening, used casually by family and friends; rarely written down.
- Carty — Affectionate form, mostly heard in childhood and on sports teams.
- C.J. — Used when the middle name supplies the second initial; functions as a standalone nickname among peers.
Who has carried each name
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
Carter
No documented entry for Carter yet.
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 Anthony if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAnthony runs 3 syllables, Carter 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 80% for Carter
Choose Carter if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesCarter is 2 syllables to Anthony's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooCarter is on the national lists of Canada and Scotland
- a newer arrivalCarter entered the US charts in 1881
- a name that feels very nowCarter is stepping back from its peak
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
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.
Carter
Strengths
- One dominant spelling that people write correctly on the first hearing, since the word and the surname are already familiar in English.
- Two syllables with front stress: easy to call across a yard, easy for a small child to say.
- Works as a surname and a first name at once, so it sits comfortably in formal and informal settings alike.
To consider
- It sits in a crowded family of occupational surname-names — Cooper, Parker, Hunter, Carson — so it may be heard as one of a set rather than as its own thing.
- Its wave is very recent, which means most people carrying it right now are children and teenagers. Like any fast-rising name, it will carry a sense of this era for the next several decades.
- This spelling goes overwhelmingly to boys. A girl named Carter will be read as an exception, which some families welcome and others would rather not manage on forms and first days of school.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
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.
Carter
80%chance Carter feels dated by 2040
Carter is coming down from a big peak (#24 in 2015). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
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 Anthony and Carter 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 Anthony and Carter?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Anthony and Carter — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anthony or Carter — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anthony or Carter?
- Carter, in 2025: Carter ranked #45 with 6,024 babies; Anthony ranked #46 with 5,967 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anthony or Carter?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Anthony moved down 5 places; Carter moved down 12 places.
- Which is the older name, Anthony or Carter?
- Anthony was already in use when US records began in 1880; Carter entered the US charts in 1881. On the American record, Anthony is the older name.
- How many people are named Anthony and Carter?
- About 1,218,000 people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 201,000 people named Carter are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Anthonys or Carters in the classroom?
- Anthony will almost certainly be the only one in school. Carter 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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