Anthony

Anthony is the English form of the Latin name Antonius, an old Roman family name of uncertain origin, possibly Etruscan. The name gained widespread use across Europe largely through the veneration of Saint Anthony the Great, an Egyptian Christian ascetic of the third and fourth centuries, and later Saint Anthony of Padua, one of the most popular Catholic saints. The spelling with an h, though etymologically unjustified, arose in the seventeenth century from a false association with the Greek word anthos, meaning flower. Related forms include Anton, Antonio, Antoine, and Antony.