Gender Masculine Language(s) Latin, from Etruscan | Language(s) English Word/name Antonius | |
Variant form(s) Antony, Antoine, Anton, Antun, Ante, Antonio, Anto Pet form(s) Ant, Antonino, Nino, Toni, 30 Tony, Tone | ||
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the Antonii, a gens (Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) belonged. There was an ancient tradition that the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles. (Plut. Ant. 4)
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"Anthony" is equivalent to Antoine in French; Antonio in Italian and Spanish; António or Antônio in Portuguese; Anton in Dutch, Galician, German, Icelandic, Romanian, Russian, and Scandinavian languages; Antal in Hungarian; and Antun or Ante in Croatian. The usual abbreviated form is Tony (sometimes "Tone" or "Ant" or "Anth"). 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 Antony of Padua. The spelling with "h" is not found until the 16th century when William Camden incorrectly claimed that the name derived from the Greek ἄνθος (anthos, flower or possibly a small yellow bird such as a wagtail). The spelling pronunciation later became usual in the United States but not in the British Isles.
In the United States, it is the seventh most popular male name as of 2008, according to the Social Security Administration. 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.
Spelling and pronunciation
The name was historically spelled Antony, as used in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra. In the 17th century, the letter "h" was inserted into the spelling on the mistaken belief that the name derived from the Greek word ανθος (anthos), meaning "flower". In Britain, the historical pronunciation /ˈæntəni/ predominates for both spellings, while in the United States and Australia the spelling pronunciation /ˈænθəni/ is more common when the "Anthony" spelling is used.