It's true. The name Anthony can be traced back thousands of years to the Roman family name Antonius. Antonius is probably of Etruscan origin, but the original meaning has been lost over time. Antonius became Antony, and then morphed into Anthony, likely because people began associating the name with Greek anth- words like anthos "flower," and anthropos "man."
The name Anthony has been consistently popular in the U.S. It's been one of the top 50 baby names nearly every year since 1905. Here's how it's ranked recently:
- 2009: 10th most popular boy name in the U.S.
- 2008: 7th
- 2007: 7th
- 2006: 9th
- 2005: 8th
- 2004: 11th
- 2003: 10th
- 2002: 12th
- 2001: 11th
- 2000: 17th
The original form, Antony, hasn't fared quite as well:
- 2009: 984th
- 2008: 897th
- 2007: 804th
- 2006: 823rd
- 2005: 786th
- 2004: 762nd
- 2003: 732nd
- 2002: 782nd
- 2001: 757th
- 2000: 784th
The most common nickname for Anthony is Tony, though Ant and Tone are sometimes used as well. Other forms of the name include Antoine (French), Anton (German and Russian), Antoni (Polish), Antonio (Spanish and Italian) and Antoon (Dutch).
Notable historical figures named Anthony include:
- Marc Antony (83 B.C. - 30 B.C.), Roman statesman and general
- St. Anthony the Great (c.251-356)
- St. Anthony of Kiev (c.983-1073)
- St. Anthony of Padua (c.1195-1231)
- Tony Bennett (b. 1926), American singer
- Anthony Hopkins (b. 1937), British actor
- Tony Danza (b. 1951), American actor
- Anthony "Tony" Blair (b. 1953), former Prime Minister of the UK
- Anthony "Tony" Dungy (b. 1955), American football coach
- Anthony Bourdain (b. 1956), American chef
- Antonio Banderas (b. 1960), Spanish actor
- Anthony Kiedis (b. 1962), American singer
- Anthony "Tony" Hawk (b. 1968) American pro-skateboarder
- Marc Anthony (b. 1968), Puerto Rican-American singer
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