Anthony
Gender | male |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Antonius |
Meaning | priceless, highly praiseworthy or flourishing |
Other names | |
Related names | Antony, Antoine, Anton, Antonio |
Man, 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. "Anthony" is equivalent to Antoine in French, Antonio in Italian 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.
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"[3]. 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.[4]
Famous people with this name
In politics
- Mark Antony, Roman politician and general
- Tony Benn, veteran British left-wing politician
- Tony Blair (born 1953), U.K. Prime Minister 1997-2007
- Anthony Eden, British politician
- Antonis Samaras, Greek politician
- Antonios Trakatellis, Greek politician and Member of the European Parliament
- Scott Anthony Angelle, interim lieutenant governor of Louisiana
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 Cruz, rapper known as AZ
- Anthony Field, a 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 Morris, singer/songwriter guitarist Canadian solo artist under the name of "Taking Back April"
- 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.
In sports
- Tony Adams (American football)
- Tony Adams, English footballer
- Antonis Antoniadis, Greek footballer
- Tony Baltazar, boxer
- Tony Batista , Dominican baseball player
- Antonis Christeas, Greek basketball player
- Tony Clark, baseball player
- Tony Conigliaro, baseball player
- Anthony Davidson, F1 driver
- Tony Dungy, former American football player and coach
- 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
- Antonis Panagi, Cypriot footballer
- Anthony Parker, American basketball player
- Tony Parker, Belgium-born French basketball player
- Antonis Petropoulos, Greek footballer
- Antonis Rikka, Greek footballer
- Anthony 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
- 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 Stewart 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 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 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
In other fields
- Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector
- Antonis Daglis, Greek serial killer
- Antonis Katsantonis, Greek klepht
- Anthony Petro Mayalla (1940-2009), Tanzanian RC bishop
- Antonis Volanis, Greek industrial designer
- Antonis Vratsanos, Greek resistance member
Writers
- Anthony Horowitz, Famous writer of 100s of books
Fictional people
- 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' potrayed by actor Larry Hagman.
See also
- Disambiguation pages for other meanings
- Anthony
- Tony
- Tony (footballer), various footballers named Tony
- Disambiguation pages for other spellings
- Disambiguation pages for this name in combination with others
References
- ^ Withycombe, E. G. (1950) The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names; 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 26-27
- ^ http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
- ^ Behind the Name - Anthony, Behind The Name
- ^ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 30. ISBN 0582053838. entry "Anthony"
External links
- BehindTheName.com entry (also contains a list of versions of Anthony in other languages)