Anthony

Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the Antonii, a gens (Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles.[2] Anthony is an English name that is in use in many countries.[3] It has been among the top 100 most popular male baby names in the United States since the late 19th century and has been among the top 100 male baby names between 1998 and 2018 in many countries including Canada, Australia, England, Ireland and Scotland.[4]

Equivalents include Antonio in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Maltese; Αντώνιος in Greek; António or Antônio in Portuguese; Antoni in Catalan, Polish, and Slovene; Anton in Dutch, Galician, German, Icelandic, Romanian, Russian, and Scandinavian languages; Antoine in French; Antal in Hungarian; and Antun or Ante in Croatian. The usual abbreviated form is Tony (sometimes "Tone", "Ant", "Anth" or "Anton"). Its use as a Christian name was due to the veneration of St. Anthony the Great, the founder of Christian monasticism, particularly in Egypt. Also significant was the later cult of St. Anthony of Padua.

In the United States, it is the 41st most popular male name as of 2020, according to the Social Security Administration.[5][needs update ] When the background is Italian, Nino or Toni, shortened from Antonino, are used. Its popularity in the United Kingdom peaked during the 1940s; in 1944 it was the sixth most popular male name and was still as high as 14th in 1964.[6]

The name was historically spelled Antony, as used in William Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra. In the 17th century, the letter "h" was inserted into the spelling on the belief that the name derived from the Greek word ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower".[7][8] In Britain, the historical pronunciation /ˈ æ n t ən i / predominates for both spellings, while in the United States the spelling pronunciation /ˈ æ n θ ən i / is more common when the "Anthony" spelling is used.[9]