Baby Names:

Anthony

Meaning: Worthy of praise

Origin: Latin

Alternate spellings: Antonio, Tony, Antoine, Antony, Anton

Want your kid to grow up to be a saint? Naming him Anthony might increase the chances – or at least give him some historical precedents. Anthony is the English form of the Roman family name Antonius. The name’s fame grew in the Christian world due to St. Anthony the Great, a third-century hermit who founded in the Middle Ages thanks to St. Anthony of Padua. Anthony has been in the top 50 U.S. names almost continually for the past century, breaking into the top 10 for the first time in 2003.