Tony
Feminine
Tony is given to boys far more often — 251,595 boys against 2,888 girls since 1880. See Tony as a boy name
Tony is the short form in English, Italian and Spanish alike, which is rare. Most nicknames stop at a border — an Italian Giovanni is Gianni and an English John is Johnny, and neither travels — but this one is the same three letters and the same sound in all three languages.
How old is the name Tony?
Tony first appears in US birth records in 1889 — 136 years ago. The typical Tony alive today was born around 1966, making them about 59 years old. About 2,200 people named Tony are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Tony most popular?
Tony peaked in 1889, reaching #1147 nationally. See the whole 1889 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Antonius to Tony
The story of Tony
The family that carried it claimed descent from a son of Hercules called Anton, which is the kind of thing Roman clans said about themselves and nobody checked. What is certain is that the name was in use in Italy for centuries before the empire and survived the whole of it, went into the church with a very popular saint, and spread across every Catholic country in Europe. The short form arrived independently in each of them and came out the same, because the stressed syllable of the long name is the same everywhere. That is why an English Tony, an Italian Tony and a Spanish Tony are all being called the same thing.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Roman family name behind it has no established meaning. It is probably Etruscan, it predates Latin's own records, and the Romans could not explain it either.
How the name formed
- Antonius
- Anthony
- Tony
Related forms: Tonio · Tono · Toine
Pronouncing Tony
TOH-nee
Two syllables with the weight at the front. Said essentially the same way in English, Italian and Spanish.
Nicknames for Tony
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
- 1889
- Most girls named
- 197078 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1147reached in 1889
- Change vs 2010
- 0.0%5 in 2019, from 5
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.
Tony in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Tonio in Italian — related form
- Tono in Spanish — related form
- Toine in French — related form
Tonys among us
people named Tony are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Tony sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, in several languages.
- It works as a full name and as a short form, which gives a family two ways to use it.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- Four letters, two syllables, and no ambiguity of any kind.
- It reads as a familiar form, and formal settings will look for an Anthony that may not exist.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the twentieth century in America.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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Tony
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Tonys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Tony are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Tony in 2025?
- Tony is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Tony with classmates?
- Tony will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Tony? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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