Anthony
Meaning
meaning unknown; Antonius is a Roman family name of obscure, likely Etruscan, origin with no established translation. "Priceless one" is a medieval Christian folk etymology, not the actual root meaning.
Name day: June 13 in the Roman calendar of saints (Saint Anthony of Padua).
The story
Anthony inherits the old Roman family name Antonius, and honesty requires admitting that nobody knows what it originally meant: the root is likely Etruscan and lost, and the popular translation priceless one is a medieval invention. What the name lacks in etymology it repays in history. Marc Antony carried it through Rome's civil wars, and Saint Anthony of Padua made it one of the most beloved names in the Catholic world, the saint you ask to find whatever you have lost. Quietly present in the American records through the century's first half, it then climbed generation by generation, reaching full strength in the closing decades of the twentieth century and holding strong past the millennium before easing off its high. Tony did decades of casual duty along the way. Few classics peaked so late, which leaves Anthony feeling less like a revival and more like a name still warm from use.
Anthony around the world
One shared root links 8 names across 4 languages.
Shared root: from the Roman family name Antonius, of obscure and likely Etruscan origin; "priceless" is folk etymology this family politely declines
The constellation
More branches
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Anthony peaked in the 1980s and the 1990s in nearly equal measure.
Popularity in Brazil
65,437 people · the #468 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 3,106 · median age 3
Among people named Anthony living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 33,592 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Anthony
Most people given the name Anthony in the United States were born between 1960 and 2009. The Anthony you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Anthony deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Anthony truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Anthony fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Anthony · Nicknames for Anthony · Italian American baby names · Saint names for babies and confirmation
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