Top 50 US name Boys' name Peak 1990 1,481,986 births

Anthony — #44 US boys' name

1,481,986 babies named Anthony in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s16111890s24531900s50431910s356271920s500541930s425451940s648241950s1366521960s2031451970s1748861980s2118701990s2162292000s1919172010s1121252020s33005
#44
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.7% of names given to boys today.

1990s
Peak decade

15% of everyone ever named Anthony was born in this single decade.

1990
Single peak year

25,087 babies were named Anthony in 1990 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Anthony

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,481,986 babies named Anthony between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Anthony currently holds the #44 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1990, when 25,087 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Anthony performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 216,229 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Anthony shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 194,696 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by California and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Anthony in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Anthony in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,481,986 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Anthony at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

1,481,986

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1990

25,087 births that year

Strongest decade: 1990s

Current rank

#44

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Anthony popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1990)
25,087
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 130

Anthony popularity over time — girls

7,104 total births recorded since 1896 (Anthony as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 7,104 births
-50050100150200250 202320081993197819631948193319181896 5

Anthony by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1990s
Peak decade
1990s
216,229 births that decade — 15% of Anthony's all-time total
1880s16111890s24531900s50431910s356271920s500541930s425451940s648241950s1366521960s2031451970s1748861980s2118701990s2162292000s1919172010s1121252020s33005

Anthony by state

Where Anthony concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Anthony
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
194,696 13.1%
#2 California
186,526 12.6%
#3 Pennsylvania
93,391 6.3%
#4 Illinois
83,046 5.6%
#5 Texas
80,569 5.4%
#6 New Jersey
74,253 5.0%
#7 Ohio
66,002 4.5%
#8 Florida
60,078 4.1%
New York share of Anthony's total US births 13.1%
Even split

194,696 of 1,481,986 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Anthony appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Anthony?
1,481,986 babies have been named Anthony since 1880. It currently ranks #44 among boys. The peak year was 1990 with 25,087 births.
When was Anthony most popular?
Anthony was most popular in the 1990s decade with 216,229 total births. The single peak year was 1990.
Where is Anthony most popular?
The top states for the name Anthony are New York (194,696 births), California (186,526 births), Pennsylvania (93,391 births).
How long has the name Anthony been used?
Anthony has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Anthony?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Antonio, Antoine, Anton, Antwan, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Anthony

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.