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)

"Anthony" is equivalent to Antonio in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek; António or Antônio in
Portuguese; 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" 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 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.[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