Boys' name · peaked in 1962
Tony name popularity since 1925
239,324 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Tony (1.1% girls, 98.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1966 or earlier, so the typical Tony is about 60 years old in 2026. Tony peaked in 1962 as the #52 name for boys, and it ranked #784 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 239,324
- Named Tony, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #784
- for boys in 2025 (325 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.9% boys
- 2,667 girls · 236,657 boys
- Most popular in
- New Mexico
- 2.21× its national share
Peak year is the year Tony made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Tony births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1961. Measured as a share of all babies, Tony peaked in 1962.
- Fastest rise: Between 1952 and 1957, Tony became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 890 baby boys to 1 in 368.
- Steepest fall: Between 1968 and 1973, its share of baby boys fell by 36%, from 1 in 296 to 1 in 466.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Tony's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Tony.
Decade by decade
Babies named Tony in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 136 | 4,851 | – |
| 1930s | 200 | 9,163 | #162 |
| 1940s | 217 | 16,960 | #129 |
| 1950s | 336 | 40,782 | #93 |
| 1960s | 606 | 70,577 | #48 |
| 1970s | 600 | 35,676 | #80 |
| 1980s | 335 | 24,500 | #114 |
| 1990s | 157 | 16,141 | #196 |
| 2000s | 65 | 9,850 | #318 |
| 2010s | 15 | 6,031 | #500 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 2,126 | #784 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
37.4% of babies named Tony from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Tony is most popular
The index compares Tony's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Tony.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 2.21× | 2,910 |
| North Carolina | 2.12× | 14,276 |
| Tennessee | 1.87× | 9,355 |
| Georgia | 1.85× | 12,132 |
| South Carolina | 1.85× | 6,166 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Tony and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Tony (this page) | 236,657 | 1962 |
| Toney | 5,592 | 1888 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Tony's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Tony.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Tony (1962).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data