Anthony

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Anthony
Marcus Antonius marble bust in the Vatican Museums.jpg
Mark Antony
Pronunciation UK: /ˈæntəni/ , US: /ˈænθəni/ [1]
GenderMale
Language(s) English
Origin
Language(s) Latin, possibly from Etruscan
Word/name Antonius
Other names
Alternative spelling
Variant form(s)
Pet form(s) Ant, Anton, Antonino, Nino, Toni, Tony, Tone, Toño

Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the Antonii , a gens (Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, a son of Heracles. [2] Anthony is an English name that is in use in many countries. [3] It has been among the top 100 most popular male baby names in the United States since the late 19th century and has been among the top 100 male baby names between 1998 and 2018 in many countries including Canada, Australia, England, Ireland and Scotland. [4]

Contents

Equivalents include Antonio in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Maltese; Αντώνιος in Greek; António or Antônio in Portuguese; Antoni in Catalan, Polish, and Slovene; 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 or Toni (sometimes Tone, Ant, Anth or Anton). Its use as a Christian name was due to the veneration of Saint Anthony the Great, the founder of Christian monasticism, particularly in Egypt. Also significant, in Roman Catholicism, has been the later cult of Saint Anthony of Padua.

In the United States, it was the 43rd most popular male name in 2021, according to the Social Security Administration. [5] Nino or Toni, shortened from Antonino, is used for those of Italian descent. 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. [6]

Spelling and pronunciation

The name was historically spelled Antony, as in William Shakespeare's play Antony and Cleopatra . During the late 15th till 17th century, the letter "h" became more frequent in the spelling of the name on the notion that it originally derived from the Greek word ἄνθος (anthos), meaning "flower". [7] [8] 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. [9]

Translations and variants

People

Fictional characters

  • Anthony Soprano, a fictional character from the HBO TV series The Sopranos, portrayed by American actor James Gandolfini
  • Anthony DiNozzo, a fictional character from the CBS TV series NCIS, portrayed by American actor Michael Weatherly
  • Anthony Zimmer, a 2005 French romantic thriller film written and directed by Jérôme Salle and starring Sophie Marceau, Yvan Attal, and Sami Frey

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN   978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Anthony". Name-doctor.com. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Anthony". Thinkbabynames.com. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Popular Baby Names". Ssa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-27.
  6. ↑ "Anthony - Meaning And Origin Of The Name Anthony". BabyNames.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  7. ↑ Withycombe, E. G. (1950) The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names; 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 26-27
  8. ↑ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Anthony". Behindthename.com. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  9. ↑ Wells, John C. (1990). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow, England: Longman. p. 30. ISBN   0-582-05383-8. entry "Anthony"
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