Anthony
Anthony or 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. Anthony is an English name that is in use in many countries. 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. 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 (sometimes "Tone", "Ant", "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. Anthony of Padua. In the United States, it is the 41st most  popular male name as of 2020, according to the Social Security Administration. 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. Spelling and pronunciation. The name was historically spelled Antony, as used in William 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 . In Britain, the historical pronunciation predominates for both spellings, while in the United States the spelling pronunciation is more common when the Anthony" spelling is used.