Anthony (name)
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, (ninth most popular male first name in the United States as of 2006), derived from Antonius, a Roman family name (a Roman gens to which Mark Antony belonged). That name seems to have come originally from the Etruscan language, although nothing further is known about this derivation. Marcus Antonius claimed that his gens was descended from Anton, a son of Heracles.
"Anthony" is equivalent to Antoine in French, Antonio in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, and Anton in German and Romanian. The usual abbreviated form is Tony (sometimes "Tone" or "Ant"). Its use as a Christian name was due to the veneration of St Anthony the Great, the founder of Christian monasticism, particularly in France. Also significant was the later cult of St Antony of Padua. The spelling with "h" is not found until the 16th century when Camden gave the etymology as being from the Greek anthos. The spelling pronunciation later became usual in the United States but not in the British Isles.[1]
In the United States, it is the seventh most popular male name as of 2008, according to the Social Security Administration.[2] 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. However, by 2004 it had fallen out of the top 100 after 40 years of steady decline in popularity.[3]
Spelling and Pronunciation
The name was historically spelled Antony, as used in Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra. In the seventeenth 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".[4] In Britain, the historical pronunciation /ˈæntəni/ predominates for both spellings, while in the United States the spelling pronunciation /ˈænθəni/ is more common when the "Anthony" spelling is used.[5]
Famous people with this name
In politics
In music
- Marc Anthony, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter who is popular for his salsa and Latino-style music
- Tony An, South Korean singer
- Tony Bennett, American crooner
- Tony Blackplait, Estonian punk rock musician, lead singer of Vennaskond
- Anthony Burger, pianist
- Anthony Callea, Australian singer
- Anthony Cruz, rapper known as AZ
- Anthony De Jesus, guitarist for American rock metal band Back From Ashes
- Anthony Field, member of the children's group The Wiggles
- Anthony Forté, rapper better known as Rappin' 4-Tay
- Anthony Hamilton (musician), R&B/soul/"neo-soul" singer and songwriter
- Antony Harding, known as ANT, British musician
- Anthony Henderson, rapper known as Krayzie Bone
- Tony Iommi, Lead guitarist from the British heavy metal group Black Sabbath.
- Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica
- Anthony Kiedis, lead singer and founding member of American rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch composer and rock musician has released his 1993 album "Pools Of Sorrow, Waves Of Joy" under his second name
- Anthony Neely, American-Taiwanese singer
- Anthony Newley, popular English actor, singer and songwriter of the 1950s and 60s and former husband to British actress Joan Collins.
- Ant Phillips (born 1951), British guitarist with the band Genesis
- Antonis Remos, Greek pop singer
- Tony Rice, Bluegrass singer and guitarist
- Tony Sheridan, British singer-songwriter, known as early collaborator with The Beatles
- Tony Sunshine, R&B singer from the Bronx
- Michael Anthony (musician), full name Michael Anthony Sobolewski, Van Halen bassist
- Anthony Caleb Followill Lead singer and rhythm guitarist for American group Kings of Leon.*
- Antony Costa, English singer-songwriter and actor
In sports
- Tony Adams (American football)
- Tony Adams, English footballer
- Antonis Antoniadis, Greek footballer
- Tony Baltazar, boxer
- Tony Batista, Dominican baseball player
- Anthony Carelli, Canadian professional wrestler
- Antonis Christeas, Greek basketball player
- Tony Clark, baseball player
- Tony Conigliaro, baseball player
- Anthony Davidson, F1 driver
- Tony Dorsett hof NFL player, 1994, Heisman winner, 1976
- Tony Dungy, former American football player and coach
- Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey goaltender
- Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
- Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player
- Antonis Georgallides, Cypriot footballer
- Anthony Gillet, French racewalker
- Anthony Gonzalez, American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts
- Tony Gonzalez, American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs
- Tony Gwynn and his son Tony Gwynn, Jr., both American baseball players
- Tony Hawk, born Anthony Frank Hawk, Professional skateboarder
- Anthony Henry, NFL player for the Dallas Cowboys
- Antonis Katantonakis, Greek sprinter
- Antonis Katsis, Cypriot footballer
- Antonis Manikas, Greek footballer
- Antonis Minou, Greek footballer
- Antonis Miyiakis, Greek footballer
- Anthony Morelli, quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions
- Anthony Mundine, Rugby League player, Boxer
- Antonios Nikopolidis, Greek footballer
- Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skating competitor
- Antonis Panagi, Cypriot footballer
- Anthony Parker, American basketball player
- Tony Parker, Belgium-born French basketball player
- Antonis Petropoulos, Greek footballer
- Antonis Rikka, Greek footballer
- Tony Sandoval, American long-distance runner
- Tony da Silva, France born Portuguese footballer
- Tony Stewart, American auto racer currently driving in NASCAR
- Anthony West (motorcycle racer), MotoGP rider
- Anthony Wright, Canadian field hockey player
In media
- Anthony (film editor), Indian film editor
- Antonio Banderas, Spanish film actor and singer
- Tony Blackburn, British disc jockey, first DJ heard in BBC Radio 1 in 1967
- Tony Booth, British actor, father of Cherie Blair
- Anthony Bourdain, Chef, restaurant owner, and host of no reservations TV show
- Anthony Burgess, British author
- Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz), American actor
- Anthony Daniels, British actor best known for the role of C-3PO in all six Star Wars films
- Tony Danza, American actor and talk show host
- Anthony Edwards, American actor best known for the role of Dr. Mark Green on TV's ER
- Antonis Fostieris, Greek poet
- Tony Hancock, British comedian and actor, known for playing a fictional character with the same name on radio and television in the 1950/60s
- Tony Hawks, British comedian and writer
- Anthony Head, British actor and singer, best known for the role of Rupert Giles in TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Anthony Hopkins, British actor
- Anthony Horowitz, British author & screenwriter
- Anthony Steven Kalloniatis, known as ANT, an openly gay American-Greek comedian
- Ant McPartlin, British television presenter
- Anthony Montgomery, American actor best known in the role of Ensign Travis Mayweather on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise
- Anthony Padilla, from "Smosh" on Youtube
- Anthony Perkins, the American actor best known for his Oscar-nominated role in the film Friendly Persuasion (1956) and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).
- Anthony Quinn, Irish American and Mexican American actor
- Tony Randall, American actor best known for his TV and movie roles roles, especially The Odd Couple'
- Tony Robbins, American self-help guru and motivational speaker
- Tony Robinson, British actor, author, broadcaster and political campaigner
- Tony Shalhoub, American television and film actor, lead role on Monk
- Tony Snow (1955–2008), American journalist and White House press secretary
- Anthony Trollope, Victorian novelist
- Anthony Zerbe, American actor
In other fields
Fictional characters
- Anthony Almeida, CTU Agent in 24
- Antonio Cipriani, the main character in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Tony Clifton, a fictional character created by comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s
- Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico, the head of Mafia of Springfield in The Simpsons
- Count Antony DiMera, a criminal in Days of our Lives
- Anthony DiNozzo, the senior agent in NCIS
- Anthony Goldstein, a Harry Potter character
- Tony Gordon, a Coronation Street character
- Anthony T. Manero, central character played by John Travolta in 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever
- Antonio Montana, played by Al Pacino in Scarface
- Andonis Papadopolous, a fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders
- Tony Redgrave, alias of Dante Sparda, protagonist of the Devil May Cry series
- Anthony Soprano, main character played by James Gandolfini in the HBO hit show The Sopranos
- Anthony Stark, the alter ego of the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man
- Anthony Stonem, a main character in British dramedy Skins
- Anthony 'Tony' Nelson a central character in the 1965's American sitcom 'I Dream of Jeannie' portrayed by actor Larry Hagman.
- Anthony Redgrave, the father of the supporting character Lucas Regrave in the game Bayonetta
- Tony the Tiger, the cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosties
Other
See also
- Disambiguation pages for other meanings
- Disambiguation pages for other spellings
- Disambiguation pages for this name in combination with others
References
External links