Anthony

What Anthony means

Means “flower”

From Latin Antōnius, name of a Roman gens (with excrescent -h- suggested by an unetymological association with Ancient Greek ἄνθος (ánthos, “flower”)).

Source: Wiktionary, “Anthony” (revision 94534491), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Anthony?

US: Falling: down from #25 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #144 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1987, when 23,127 boys got the name (#17 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 286 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,320 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,155 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in RI (10.24 per 1,000 boys), DE (9.5 per 1,000 boys), DC (8.71 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Anthony is #46 in the US and #239 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.8% of US babies named Anthony were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Anthoni8 US
• Anthonny5 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Antony

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

Nicknames

• Tony
• Ant
• Anto
• Antu

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Anthony

Boys

• Victor#209“conqueror”^*
• Justin#233“just”^*
• Marcus#258Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 5,996 babies; 1,341 in 2025
• Carlos#150Spanish and Portuguese form of Charles, meaning “free man”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Paul#262“small”^*

For a sister

• Lauren#401Same root as Laurence, possibly meaning “laurel”^*
• Emily#34“rival, emulator”^*
• Miranda#654“admirable”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*
• Anna#107Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #44 in 2015, #107 in 2025
• Monica#736Editor’s note Down from #559 in 2015 to #736 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Anthony’s. Rank is US 2025.