Anthony (given name)

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.[1] Anthony is an English name that is in use throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia, India, Pakistan, the British Isles, Guyana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Nigeria.[2]

Anthony
GenderMasculine
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Latin, Ancient Greek, from Ancient Greece, or possibly Etruscan
Word/nameAntonius
Other names
Alternative spellingAnthoni, Anthonie, Anthoney,
Variant form(s)Antony, Antonio, Anton, Antonis, Antoine, Antun, Ante, Anto, Anton, Tonini
Pet form(s)Ant, Anton, Antonino, Nino, Toni, Tony, Tone, Toño

"Anthony" is equivalent to Antonio in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Maltese; 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" or "Anton"). 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.[3]

In the United States, it is the seventh most popular male name as of 2008, according to the Social Security Administration.[4] 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.[5]

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 belief that the name derived from the Greek word ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower".[6] 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.[7]

Translations and variants

  • Albanian: Andon (standard Albanian and Tosk Albanian dialect), Ndue (Gheg Albanian dialect), Anton
  • Arabic: أنتوني, انطوان، انطون، طانيوس، مطانيوس
  • Basque: Andoni, Antton
  • Belarusian: Антось (Antoś), Энтані (Entani)
  • Bengali: এন্থনি (Ēnthoni), আন্তোনিও (Āntōni'ō)
  • Bulgarian: Anton, Antoan, Andon, Doncho
  • Catalan: Antoni, Toni
  • Chinese: 安东尼 (simplified), 安東尼 (traditional) (Mandarin: Āndōngní, Cantonese: Ōndūngnèih)
  • Croatian: Anton, Antonijo, Antonio, Antun, Ante, Anto, Tonči, Tonći, Toni
  • Czech: Antonín, Antek, Tonik, Tonda
  • Danish: Anton, Anthon
  • Dutch: Anton, Antoon, Antonie, Antonius, Teun, Teunis, Theun, Theunis, Ton, Toon
  • Esperanto: Antono, Anĉjo
  • Estonian: Anton, Tõnis, Tõnu, Tõnn
  • Filipino: Antonio, Antón, Onyo, Onying, Ton, Tonton, Tonio, Tonyo, Tunyíng
  • Finnish: Anton, Anttoni, Antton, Antto, Toni
  • French: Antoine, Antonin
  • Galician: Antón
  • German: Anton, Toni
  • Greek: Αντώνιος (Antó̱nios), Αντώνης (Antonis), Andonios, Andonis
  • Gujarati: એન્થની (Ēnthanī)
  • Hawaiian: Anakoni, Akoni
  • Hebrew: אנטוני המלך, טוני
  • Hindi: एंथनी (Ēnthanī)
  • Hungarian: Antal, Tóni
  • Irish: Antaine, Antoine, Antóin
  • Italian: Antonio, Antonino, Antonello, Nino, Tonino, Tonio, Totò
  • Japanese: アンソニー (Ansonī)
  • Kannada: ಆಂಟನಿ (Āṇṭani)
  • Korean: 앤토니 (Anthony)
  • Latin: Antonius, Antoninus
  • Latvian: Antonijs, Antons
  • Lithuanian: Antanas
  • Macedonian: Anton, Antonij, Andon, Doncho
  • Marathi: अंन्थोनी (Annthōnī)
  • Malayalam: ആൻ്റണി (Antoni), അന്തോണി (Anthōṇī)
  • Mongolian: Антони (Antoni)
  • Nepali: एन्थोनी (Ēnthōnī)
  • Norwegian: Anton
  • Persian: آنتونی
  • Polish: Antoni, Antek, Antoś, Antonin, Tolek, Tonek
  • Portuguese: António, Antônio, Antão
  • Romanian: Anton
  • Russian: Антон (Anton)
  • Sami: Ante
  • Serbian: Антоније (Antonije), Анто (Anto)
  • Sheng: Anto, Toni
  • Slovak: Anton, Tóno, Tónko (diminutive)
  • Slovene: Anton, Tone
  • Spanish: Antonio, Antón, Toño (diminutive)
  • Swahili: Antoni, Antonio, Toni
  • Swedish: Anton, Ante
  • Sylheti: আন্তনি (Antoni)
  • Tamil: அந்தோணி (Antōṇi)
  • Telugu: ఆంథోనీ (Ānthōnī)
  • Thai: แอนโทนี่ (Xæ n tho nī̀)
  • Ukrainian: Ентоні (Entoni), Anton, Antin
  • Urdu: انتھونی

See also

References

  1. Plutarch. "Antony". He had also a noble dignity of form; and a shapely beard, a broad forehead, and an aquiline nose were thought to show the virile qualities peculiar to the portraits and statues of Heracles. Moreover, there was an ancient tradition that the Antonii were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles.
  2. "Anthony". Name-doctor.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  3. Withycombe, E. G. (1950) The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names; 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 26-27
  4. "Popular Baby Names". Ssa.gov. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  5. "Anthony - Meaning And Origin Of The Name Anthony". BabyNames.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  6. Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Anthony". Behindthename.com. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  7. Wells, John C. (1990). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 30. ISBN 0-582-05383-8. entry "Anthony"
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.