Anthony
Feminine
Anthony is given to boys far more often — 1,488,042 boys against 7,114 girls since 1880. See Anthony as a boy name
Anthony of Padua is the saint you ask about lost things. The prayer is a jingle: Tony, Tony, come around, something's lost and can't be found. He is one of the most invoked saints in the world for the most ordinary reason imaginable.
How old is the name Anthony?
Anthony first appears in US birth records in 1896 — 129 years ago. The typical Anthony alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 6,100 people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anthony most popular?
Anthony peaked in 1966, reaching #748 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 8,709 places below that high. See the whole 1966 chart.
Where it comes from
From Antonius to Anthony
The story of Anthony
Anthony of Padua was a Portuguese Franciscan who died in 1231 and was canonized within a year, one of the fastest canonizations on record. The association with lost objects comes from a story about a novice who took his psalter and returned it after Anthony prayed, and it has made him the most practically invoked saint in Catholic life: not for a disease or a trade but for keys, glasses and wallets. The rhyme addressed to him exists in several languages. He is also the patron of Portugal, Padua and lost people, and the huge basilica at Padua receives millions of visitors. What is worth noticing is how the intercession works in practice. It is a small, repeatable, domestic devotion, and it has kept a thirteenth-century friar in daily circulation among people who could not name another Franciscan.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Anthony descends from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is genuinely unknown and is probably Etruscan. The h in the English spelling was inserted by Renaissance scholars who connected it wrongly to Greek anthos, flower. The female entries in the American record most likely represent family surnames given to daughters or transcription. The female peak is 1966.
How the name formed
- Antonius
- Anthony
Related forms: Antonia · Antoinette · Antonio
Pronouncing Anthony
AN-thuh-nee
Three syllables, stress on the first. British English usually says AN-tuh-nee without the th, which is closer to the original Latin.
Nicknames for Anthony
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1896
- Most girls named
- 1986198 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #748reached in 1966
- Change vs 2022
- +42.9%10 in 2025, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Anthony in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Antonia in Italian — related form
- Antoinette in French — related form
- Antonio in Spanish — same name
Anthonys among us
people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Anthony
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Rutha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Anthony's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Rutha climbed just as high around 1932, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Rutha's path sketches the road Anthony is walking now.
Anthony sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Anthony beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anthony in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Toni is available as an established female short form.
- Antonia and Antoinette are both available as female forms.
- The name is recognized in every European language.
- It is read as a man's name almost everywhere.
- The h is a Renaissance addition defending a false etymology.
- The meaning of the Roman original is genuinely unknown.
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What they receive
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Anthony
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Anthonys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,100 people named Anthony are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anthony in 2025?
- Anthony ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anthony?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Anthony — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anthony with classmates?
- Anthony will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anthony
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anthony? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anthony and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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