US rank #802 Boys' name Peak 1961 251,269 births

Tony — #802 US boys' name

251,269 babies named Tony in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1961. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s4011890s4751900s10201910s74951920s103981930s91631940s169601950s407861960s705751970s356791980s245001990s161392000s98492010s60302020s1799
#802
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 94% of names given to boys today.

1960s
Peak decade

28% of everyone ever named Tony was born in this single decade.

1961
Single peak year

8,301 babies were named Tony in 1961 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Tony

The Social Security Administration has registered 251,269 babies named Tony between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Tony currently holds the #802 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1961, when 8,301 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Tony performed strongest in the 1960s, accumulating 70,575 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Tony shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 27,839 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and North Carolina. In total, SSA state-level files list Tony in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Tony 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 251,269 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.

Tony at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

251,269

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1961

8,301 births that year

Strongest decade: 1960s

Current rank

#802

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Tony popularity over time — boys

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

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1961)
8,301
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-2,00002,0004,0006,0008,00010,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 42

Tony popularity over time — girls

2,889 total births recorded since 1889 (Tony as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 2,889 births
020406080100 201919971984197119581945193219191889 6

Tony by decade

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

Peak: 1960s
Peak decade
1960s
70,575 births that decade — 28% of Tony's all-time total
1880s4011890s4751900s10201910s74951920s103981930s91631940s169601950s407861960s705751970s356791980s245001990s161392000s98492010s60302020s1799

Tony by state

Where Tony concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Tony
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
27,839 11.1%
#2 Texas
20,491 8.2%
#3 North Carolina
14,231 5.7%
#4 Georgia
12,125 4.8%
#5 Illinois
12,088 4.8%
#6 New York
10,260 4.1%
#7 Ohio
10,212 4.1%
#8 Tennessee
9,392 3.7%
California share of Tony's total US births 11.1%
Even split

27,839 of 251,269 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Tony appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Tony?
251,269 babies have been named Tony since 1880. It currently ranks #802 among boys. The peak year was 1961 with 8,301 births.
When was Tony most popular?
Tony was most popular in the 1960s decade with 70,575 total births. The single peak year was 1961.
Where is Tony most popular?
The top states for the name Tony are California (27,839 births), Texas (20,491 births), North Carolina (14,231 births).
How long has the name Tony been used?
Tony has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Tony?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Toney, Toni, Tonny, Tonnie, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

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.