2000
#580
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,146
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.33
Uncommon Last name
Anthony
Derived from a Roman family name, likely meaning "priceless" or "of inestimable worth" in Latin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 59,809 Americans carry the last name Anthony. That puts it at #633 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.45 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,731 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Anthony surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Anthony with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
60K
1 in 5,731
Census rank
#633
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 52,156 bearers of the surname Anthony in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.45 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 633rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Anthony, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Anthony
The surname Anthony has its origins in ancient Rome, derived from the Roman family name Antonius. This name is believed to have originated from the Latin word "Antoanus," which means "priceless" or "invaluable." The Antonius family was a prominent patrician family in ancient Rome, and several notable figures bore this name, including the famed Roman general and statesman Marcus Antonius.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Anthony can be found in medieval English and Norman records, where it appeared as "Antony" or "Auntenye." These variations likely emerged due to the influence of Norman French on the English language after the Norman Conquest in 1066. During this period, many people adopted surnames derived from their given names or those of their ancestors.
In the Domesday Book, a survey of land ownership in England completed in 1086, there are several entries referring to individuals with the surname Anthony or its variants. For example, a landholder named "Antone" is mentioned in the records for Lincolnshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Anthony was Roger Antony, a 13th-century landowner from Gloucestershire, England. Another notable figure from the same period was John Antony, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who served as the city's mayor in 1275.
Over the centuries, the surname Anthony has been associated with several prominent individuals across various fields. For example, Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a pioneering American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Mark Antony (83-30 BC), the Roman politician and general, was a key figure in the final days of the Roman Republic.
Other famous individuals with the surname Anthony include:
1. Marc Anthony (born 1968), an American singer and actor of Puerto Rican descent.
2. Piers Anthony (born 1934), an English-American author known for his fantasy novels, particularly the Xanth series.
3. Joseph Anthony (1912-1993), an American artist and illustrator renowned for his paintings of the American West.
4. John Anthony (1586-1655), an English Puritan minister and theologian who played a significant role in the English Reformation.
5. Basil Anthony (1927-2019), an Indian-born American philosopher and academic who specialized in the philosophy of mind and epistemology.
While the surname Anthony has its roots in ancient Rome, it has since become widely dispersed across various cultures and regions, with bearers of the name contributing to diverse fields throughout history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anthony
Among Census respondents with the surname Anthony, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Anthony bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Anthony surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White57.3% · 29,891
- Black or African American31.3% · 16,305
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 2,419
- Two or more races4.3% · 2,227
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 1,042
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 272
Timeline
Historical Census data for Anthony
Anthony appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#618
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,114
+2,968 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 18.68
Rank movement Down 38 places
2020
#633
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,156
-2,958 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 17.45
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #580 | 52,146 | 19.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #618 | 55,114 | 18.68 | +2,968 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 38 places |
| 2020 | #633 | 52,156 | 17.45 | -2,958 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 15 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Anthony surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #618 | #633 | -2.4% |
| Count | 55,114 | 52,156 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 18.68 | 17.45 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Anthony bearers went from 55,114 to 52,156 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #618 to #633.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Anthony
FAQ
Anthony surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Anthony?
Name Census estimates that about 59,809 living Americans carry the surname Anthony. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,731 residents.
How common is Anthony?
Anthony ranks #633 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.45 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 52,156 people with the surname Anthony. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (59,809), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.45 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.45 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Anthony.
Has Anthony become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Anthony went from 55,114 recorded bearers to 52,156. That is a decrease of 2,958 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #618 to #633.
What does the Census say about the background of Anthony?
Among Census respondents with the surname Anthony, the largest self-reported group is White at 57.3%. The next largest groups are Black (31.3%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Anthony in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.3% (29,891 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Anthony appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (57.3%), Black (31.3%), Hispanic (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Anthony (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Anthony mean?
Derived from a Roman family name, likely meaning "priceless" or "of inestimable worth" in Latin. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Anthony (17.45 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Anthony?
For a quick modern take, check how many people are called Anthony on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.