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BabyNames
Boy name#146 of boy names

Tony

Pronounced T OW1 N IY0 (ARPABET)

  • 2 syllables
  • Peaked 1961
  • 145 years in use
  • 4 spellings
Compare

How popular is Tony?

Tony is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 260,507 children — the 146th most common boys' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 45% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1961, when 8,549 children were given it.

Four other spellings are counted in that total — Toney, Toni, Tonny and one more — because they are pronounced identically.

02,5005,0007,50010,00018901920195019802010
19618,549

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Tony and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Toney
  • Toni
  • Tonny
  • Tonie

Nicknames

Tony is itself a short form of Anthony.

Characteristics

  • 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
T OW1 N IY0
Stress pattern:
10
Syllables:
2

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Tony

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Tony

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Tony?
Tony ranks 146th among boys' names in US records, with 260,507 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 4,662.
Is Tony a unisex name?
No. Tony is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Tony most popular?
1961, when 8,549 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Tony spelled?
Toney, Toni, Tonny, Tonie. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.