boy's name
Antoine
ahn-TWAHN
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 330,448
France
#63
2025 births
Antoine is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, the French form of Anthony. It ranks sixty-third in France and 1,716th in the United States, and its meaning is genuinely unknown despite the confident glosses reference works give it.
- Antoine is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1996, when 6,745 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 659 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Antoine over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 21,325 |
| 1910s | 16,860 |
| 1920s | 20,480 |
| 1930s | 15,670 |
| 1940s | 10,390 |
| 1950s | 11,710 |
| 1960s | 13,270 |
| 1970s | 14,445 |
| 1980s | 31,360 |
| 1990s | 57,575 |
| 2000s | 42,575 |
| 2010s | 22,545 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 7,210 |
What Antoine means
Antoine has no established meaning. The Roman Antonius is of Etruscan origin and its sense is lost; the common gloss "priceless" or "highly praiseworthy" comes from a later association with the Greek anthos, a flower, which is not its root.
Where Antoine comes from
Antoine is the French form of Antonius, a Roman gens name of probable Etruscan origin whose meaning is not recoverable. Its most famous ancient bearer is Marcus Antonius, Mark Antony. The glosses given by most reference sites — priceless, praiseworthy, flower — all derive from later folk etymologies: the h in the English Anthony was inserted in the sixteenth century on the mistaken assumption of a link to the Greek anthos. Saint Anthony of Egypt, the founder of Christian monasticism, and Saint Anthony of Padua, invoked for lost objects, gave the name its enormous medieval currency. Antoine de Saint-Exupery is its best-known modern French bearer.
Antoine in use
Antoine ranks sixty-third in France with about 895 births in 2025 and our records show a peak in 1985, so it is past its high point there. It has real American presence at 1,716 and appears in Ireland and Scotland. Our data carries it from 1882 and holds more than 313,000 births. It is one of the more common names whose meaning is honestly unknown, which most reference works decline to say.
How popular is Antoine?
In 2025, Antoine was given to 895 babies in France, ranking #63 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Antoine is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Antoine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Antoine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Antoine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Antoine
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Antoine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Antoine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Antoine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Antoine
What does the name Antoine mean?
Its meaning is genuinely unknown. The Roman Antonius is of Etruscan origin and its sense is lost.
Does Antoine mean priceless?
That gloss is a folk etymology from a false link to the Greek anthos, a flower.
Why does English spell it Anthony with an h?
The h was inserted in the sixteenth century on the mistaken assumption of a Greek root.
How do you pronounce Antoine?
ahn-TWAHN, with a nasal first syllable.
How popular is the name Antoine?
In 2025, Antoine was given to 895 babies in France, ranking #63 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Antoine a girl's or a boy's name?
Antoine is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Antoine?
Antoine has 2 syllables.
When was Antoine most popular?
Antoine peaked in 1996, when 6,745 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Antoine?
Antoine is usually shortened to Tony and Anton.
Is Antoine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Antoine currently ranks #63 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.