Popularity of the name Anthony, 1880–2025
Anthony was at its most popular in 1987, when 23,127 boys were given the name: about 1 in 81 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #17. In 2025, 5,967 boys were named Anthony, ranking #46. In all, Social Security counts 1,488,042 boys named Anthony since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 7,114 girls named Anthony.
- Peak year
- 1987
- Rank in 1987
- #17
- Babies in 1987
- 23,127
- Rank in 2025
- #46
- Total since 1880
- 1,488,042
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #25 in 2015 to #46 in 2025: 10,664 boys got it in 2015, and 5,967 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 2000s, when 191,928 boys were named Anthony, #11 for the decade. It ranked #93 in the 1880s and #46 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 130 in 1880 (#103), 406 in 1900 (#67), 4,944 in 1920 (#43), 4,769 in 1940 (#46), 19,499 in 1960 (#25), 17,604 in 1980 (#24), 19,656 in 2000 (#17) and 7,037 in 2020 (#41).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 25,088, in 1990. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1990 than for 1987, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #7, first reached in 2007.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Anthony, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 130 | #103 |
| 1881 | 128 | #100 |
| 1882 | 139 | #105 |
| 1883 | 143 | #92 |
| 1884 | 179 | #88 |
| 1885 | 153 | #95 |
| 1886 | 174 | #93 |
| 1887 | 153 | #98 |
| 1888 | 193 | #93 |
| 1889 | 219 | #80 |
| 1890 | 189 | #90 |
| 1891 | 170 | #96 |
| 1892 | 255 | #78 |
| 1893 | 220 | #81 |
| 1894 | 257 | #77 |
| 1895 | 221 | #86 |
| 1896 | 276 | #73 |
| 1897 | 249 | #76 |
| 1898 | 325 | #65 |
| 1899 | 291 | #64 |
| 1900 | 406 | #67 |
| 1901 | 323 | #62 |
| 1902 | 420 | #54 |
| 1903 | 399 | #54 |
| 1904 | 422 | #56 |
| 1905 | 490 | #48 |
| 1906 | 542 | #44 |
| 1907 | 593 | #46 |
| 1908 | 690 | #41 |
| 1909 | 758 | #40 |
| 1910 | 980 | #37 |
| 1911 | 1,288 | #35 |
| 1912 | 2,480 | #37 |
| 1913 | 2,781 | #38 |
| 1914 | 3,695 | #37 |
| 1915 | 4,722 | #36 |
| 1916 | 4,749 | #37 |
| 1917 | 5,027 | #38 |
| 1918 | 5,168 | #39 |
| 1919 | 4,737 | #41 |
| 1920 | 4,944 | #43 |
| 1921 | 5,239 | #40 |
| 1922 | 5,091 | #39 |
| 1923 | 5,121 | #39 |
| 1924 | 5,191 | #39 |
| 1925 | 5,041 | #39 |
| 1926 | 5,058 | #42 |
| 1927 | 4,917 | #43 |
| 1928 | 4,719 | #44 |
| 1929 | 4,733 | #44 |
| 1930 | 4,674 | #44 |
| 1931 | 4,310 | #46 |
| 1932 | 4,223 | #45 |
| 1933 | 3,974 | #46 |
| 1934 | 3,840 | #52 |
| 1935 | 3,909 | #52 |
| 1936 | 3,978 | #48 |
| 1937 | 4,339 | #47 |
| 1938 | 4,689 | #46 |
| 1939 | 4,610 | #48 |
| 1940 | 4,769 | #46 |
| 1941 | 5,239 | #46 |
| 1942 | 6,210 | #44 |
| 1943 | 6,202 | #44 |
| 1944 | 5,604 | #46 |
| 1945 | 5,686 | #46 |
| 1946 | 6,771 | #44 |
| 1947 | 8,014 | #41 |
| 1948 | 7,878 | #41 |
| 1949 | 8,452 | #36 |
| 1950 | 8,612 | #36 |
| 1951 | 9,836 | #34 |
| 1952 | 11,188 | #34 |
| 1953 | 11,693 | #32 |
| 1954 | 13,124 | #32 |
| 1955 | 14,170 | #31 |
| 1956 | 15,565 | #30 |
| 1957 | 17,057 | #27 |
| 1958 | 17,430 | #27 |
| 1959 | 17,972 | #26 |
| 1960 | 19,499 | #25 |
| 1961 | 20,209 | #25 |
| 1962 | 20,103 | #24 |
| 1963 | 20,250 | #22 |
| 1964 | 20,126 | #21 |
| 1965 | 20,326 | #22 |
| 1966 | 20,624 | #22 |
| 1967 | 20,887 | #21 |
| 1968 | 20,231 | #21 |
| 1969 | 20,904 | #20 |
| 1970 | 21,176 | #22 |
| 1971 | 19,223 | #23 |
| 1972 | 17,454 | #22 |
| 1973 | 16,414 | #21 |
| 1974 | 16,391 | #21 |
| 1975 | 16,489 | #21 |
| 1976 | 16,601 | #22 |
| 1977 | 16,804 | #21 |
| 1978 | 16,808 | #20 |
| 1979 | 17,513 | #21 |
| 1980 | 17,604 | #24 |
| 1981 | 18,569 | #23 |
| 1982 | 19,648 | #21 |
| 1983 | 19,830 | #22 |
| 1984 | 20,956 | #21 |
| 1985 | 22,104 | #20 |
| 1986 | 21,956 | #19 |
| 1987 | 23,127 | #17 |
| 1988 | 23,644 | #18 |
| 1989 | 24,423 | #16 |
| 1990 | 25,088 | #15 |
| 1991 | 24,447 | #18 |
| 1992 | 23,174 | #19 |
| 1993 | 21,788 | #19 |
| 1994 | 21,604 | #18 |
| 1995 | 20,482 | #19 |
| 1996 | 20,508 | #19 |
| 1997 | 20,034 | #18 |
| 1998 | 19,634 | #19 |
| 1999 | 19,472 | #18 |
| 2000 | 19,656 | #17 |
| 2001 | 19,737 | #11 |
| 2002 | 19,590 | #12 |
| 2003 | 20,149 | #10 |
| 2004 | 19,613 | #11 |
| 2005 | 19,387 | #8 |
| 2006 | 19,413 | #9 |
| 2007 | 19,639 | #7 |
| 2008 | 18,417 | #7 |
| 2009 | 16,327 | #11 |
| 2010 | 15,511 | #10 |
| 2011 | 14,290 | #11 |
| 2012 | 13,228 | #15 |
| 2013 | 12,295 | #19 |
| 2014 | 11,613 | #21 |
| 2015 | 10,664 | #25 |
| 2016 | 9,900 | #30 |
| 2017 | 8,877 | #33 |
| 2018 | 8,048 | #38 |
| 2019 | 7,725 | #38 |
| 2020 | 7,037 | #41 |
| 2021 | 6,792 | #43 |
| 2022 | 6,607 | #44 |
| 2023 | 6,277 | #46 |
| 2024 | 6,353 | #44 |
| 2025 | 5,967 | #46 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.