Anthony

Anthony is a traditionally masculine name with roots going back to ancient Greek and Roman cultures as well as the Basque language. In Basque, Anthony means "he who adds, and it can mean both “of the Antonius family” in Latin and “priceless one” in ancient Greek. Perfect for any priceless newborn, it's also related to the Greek "anthos" meaning flower — and floral names are definitely making a comeback.

Famous Anthonys (Anthonies?) include Anthony Bourdain, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Tony Romo, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Dorsett, Anthony Trujillo, Anthony Padilla, and of course the O.G., Roman general Marc Antony, lover of Queen Cleopatra. Anthony's most common nickname is Tony; Anton is another good one.

Popularity-wise, the name Anthony peaked in 1990 and has been steadily dropping ever since. Which, given how many Liams and Emmas are going to be in your kid's kindergarten class, may be a good thing for lil' Tony. But it's still a strong middle-grounder in terms of popularity; neither too common nor too out-there. In 2018 Anthony was the 38th most popular boys name in the U.S.

Want more names with Anthony's authoritative elegance? Try Blackburn, Brittan, Brucey, Everton, Hampton, Jordell, Lache, Loreca, Paulin, Pickford, Sigmund, Starling, Typhon, or Winton. Some of these guys can even be made into "Tony" themselves!

Anthony in quotes:

“We can destroy what we have written, but we cannot unwrite it.”
― Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

"'You know my name, not my story. You've heard what I've done, but not what I've been through.'" — Jonathan Anthony Burkett