Anton
Masculine
Anton is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 23,915 boys against 21 girls since 1880.
Anton is the form that Latin Antonius took when it settled into German, Russian, Dutch and the Scandinavian and Slavic languages — two clean syllables where English kept three. It has been on American records for as long as such records exist, never crowding the classroom, never dropping out either. In the mouth it is compact and consonant-forward, the sort of name that carries clearly across a room.
How old is the name Anton?
Anton was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Anton alive today was born around 1972, making them about 53 years old. About 15,000 people named Anton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Anton most popular?
Anton peaked in 1880, reaching #171 nationally. Today it ranks #1388, 1,217 places below that high. See the whole 1880 chart.
Where it comes from
From Antonius to Anton
The story of Anton
The Antonii were a Roman family of long standing, and their name spread the ordinary Roman way — through descendants, clients and freedmen who took it as their own. Christianity then carried it much further: Antony the Egyptian hermit, of the third and fourth centuries, became one of the most widely venerated saints of the early church, and Antonius traveled with him across Europe. In the Romance languages it softened into Antonio and Antoine; in German, Dutch, Russian, Czech, Swedish and Norwegian it contracted to Anton. That is the form that came to the United States with central, northern and eastern European families, which is part of why it has stayed most visible in the big immigrant-gateway states.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Anton comes from the Roman family name Antonius, borne by one of the older houses of the Roman Republic, and no one has established what Antonius itself meant — it is generally taken to be pre-Latin, possibly Etruscan. The familiar gloss 'flower', from Greek anthos, is a later association rather than a source: it explains the 'h' in the English Anthony, and nothing more. What is documented is the name's reach, not its translation.
How the name formed
- Antonius
- Anton
Related forms: Antonio · Anthony · Antoine · Антон · Antoni · Antal
Pronouncing Anton
AN-tahn
German, Russian and Scandinavian speakers stress the first syllable: AHN-tawn. Some American families say an-TOHN instead, with the weight at the end. Both are in real use, so it is worth deciding early which one you will correct people to.
Nicknames for Anton
High
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1916334 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #171reached in 1880
- Change vs 2022
- −0.8%132 in 2025, from 133
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.
Anton in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Antonio in Italian, Spanish — same name
- Anthony in English — same name
- Antoine in French — same name
- Антон in Russian — transliteration
- Antoni in Polish — same name
- Antal in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Florida.
Antons among us
people named Anton are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 12,940 born in 2025 was named Anton
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Anton 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
Where Anton is headed
Anton should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Anton beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Anton in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Works unchanged in German, Russian, Dutch, Czech, Swedish and Norwegian, and has close cousins — Antonio, Antoine, Anthony — in most other European languages.
- A documented record running back to Republican Rome, with no break in use since.
- Ready-made short forms in several traditions: Tony and Toni in the West, Antosha and Tosha in Russian.
- Five letters, spelled the way it sounds once heard; no competing modern respellings to defend.
- It sits inside a crowded family. Anton will be heard as Anthony, written as Antoine, and answered to as Antonio at least occasionally — usually a one-word correction, but a lifelong one.
- The stress is genuinely unsettled in American English, AN-tahn against an-TOHN. Choosing your version and using it consistently saves the child from arbitrating.
- Tony, the obvious short form, belongs to several other names and is strongly associated with older generations, so it may read differently than the full name does.
- It is uncommon enough that most classrooms hold only one — good for being identifiable, though it also means the name arrives without a crowd of familiar reference points for teachers.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Anton
Masculine · #1388 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Antons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 15,000 people named Anton are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Anton in 2025?
- Anton ranks #1388 among US boy names in 2025, with 132 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Anton?
- About 1 in every 12,940 US boys born in 2025 was named Anton — 132 in all.
- Will my child share the name Anton with classmates?
- Anton will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Anton
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Graysen#1388 · Lyric#1388 · Tyrone#1388 · Amar#1388 · Scout#1393 · Aviel#1393 · Jules#1393 · Aariv#1393
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Anton? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Anton and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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