Head to head · Boys' names
Anthony vs Isaac
#46 vs #47 in 2025
Anthony is a whisker ahead (#46 vs #47 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Anthony is holding its place on the charts, Isaac 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 4 measures of 6; Isaac 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: Anthony #95, Isaac #75 — Isaac higher
- 1890s: Anthony #79, Isaac #103 — Anthony higher
- 1900s: Anthony #51, Isaac #131 — Anthony higher
- 1910s: Anthony #38, Isaac #173 — Anthony higher
- 1920s: Anthony #41, Isaac #208 — Anthony higher
- 1930s: Anthony #47, Isaac #246 — Anthony higher
- 1940s: Anthony #43, Isaac #276 — Anthony higher
- 1950s: Anthony #31, Isaac #310 — Anthony higher
- 1960s: Anthony #22, Isaac #363 — Anthony higher
- 1970s: Anthony #21, Isaac #225 — Anthony higher
- 1980s: Anthony #20, Isaac #151 — Anthony higher
- 1990s: Anthony #18, Isaac #98 — Anthony higher
- 2000s: Anthony #10, Isaac #46 — Anthony higher
- 2010s: Anthony #24, Isaac #33 — Anthony higher
- 2020s: Anthony #44, Isaac #42 — Isaac higher
Anthony stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Isaac took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anthony | Isaac |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #95 | #75 |
| 1890s | #79 | #103 |
| 1900s | #51 | #131 |
| 1910s | #38 | #173 |
| 1920s | #41 | #208 |
| 1930s | #47 | #246 |
| 1940s | #43 | #276 |
| 1950s | #31 | #310 |
| 1960s | #22 | #363 |
| 1970s | #21 | #225 |
| 1980s | #20 | #151 |
| 1990s | #18 | #98 |
| 2000s | #10 | #46 |
| 2010s | #24 | #33 |
| 2020s | #44 | #42 |
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
Isaac
- France#11
- Canada#36
- England & Wales#37
- Scotland#56
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.
Isaac
He laughs, or he will laugh
The Hebrew Yitzhak is built on the root ts-h-q, to laugh; Genesis ties the name directly to Sarah's laughter at the promise of a son.
Yitzhak → Isaak → Isaac
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, Yitzhak, borne in the Book of Genesis by the son of Abraham and Sarah. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible wrote it Isaak, Latin took it as Isaac, and that Latin spelling is the one English has kept.
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.
Isaac
EYE-zik
Standard in American English. Spanish and French speakers say roughly ee-SAHK or ee-ZAHK, and the Hebrew Yitzhak sounds quite different again — worth knowing if the family spans more than one language.
- Ike — The long-established English short form, informal, and used as a standalone name in earlier generations.
- Izzy — Informal and current; also serves Isaiah, Isabella and Isadora, so it is shared territory.
- Zac — Informal, drawn from the second syllable; overlaps with Zachary.
- Ikey — An older diminutive, rarely heard now.
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
Isaac
Isaac Newton (b. 1643) — Gravity, calculus, the laws of motion
Isaac Asimov (b. 1920) — Sci-fi grandmaster of I, Robot and Foundation
Isaac Hayes (b. 1942) — Oscar-winning soul legend ("Theme from Shaft")
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, Isaac 2
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 79% for Isaac
Choose Isaac if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesIsaac is 2 syllables to Anthony's 3
- a name that charts abroad tooIsaac is on the national lists of France, Canada, England & Wales and Scotland
- a name that feels very nowIsaac 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.
Isaac
Strengths
- A spelling almost everyone already knows on sight, with no competing variants to explain.
- Documented in continuous use for millennia, and it has never had to be revived.
- Works across borders: it charts in France, Canada, England and Wales, and Scotland, and needs no translation in Spanish or Portuguese.
To consider
- Isaac and Isaiah are constantly mistaken for each other, and Issac is a very common transposition in writing. Expect to correct both.
- The biblical story is inseparable from the name. That is a pleasure for some families and a consideration for others.
- Izzy is shared with several popular girls' names, so if that is the nickname you love, it will not be his alone.
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.
Isaac
79%chance Isaac feels dated by 2040
Isaac is coming down from a big peak (#28 in 2013). 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 Isaac 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
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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 Isaac — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anthony or Isaac — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anthony or Isaac?
- Anthony, in 2025: Anthony ranked #46 with 5,967 babies; Isaac ranked #47 with 5,953 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anthony or Isaac?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Anthony moved down 5 places; Isaac moved down 8 places.
- Which is the older name, Anthony or Isaac?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Anthony and Isaac?
- About 1,218,000 people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 300,000 people named Isaac are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Anthonys or Isaacs in the classroom?
- Anthony will almost certainly be the only one in school. Isaac 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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