girl's name
Antoinette
an-twuh-NET
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 10
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 153,303
Northern Ireland
#387
1997 births
Antoinette means little Antoine, and the meaning usually given for the parent name — flower — is a false etymology. Antonius is a Roman family name, probably Etruscan, with no established sense at all.
- Antoinette is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in 1924, when 1,333 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 60,281 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 3.
Antoinette over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 431 |
| 1890s | 901 |
| 1900s | 1,969 |
| 1910s | 8,216 |
| 1920s | 11,590 |
| 1930s | 7,394 |
| 1940s | 8,244 |
| 1950s | 9,045 |
| 1960s | 9,958 |
| 1970s | 7,215 |
| 1980s | 6,946 |
| 1990s | 4,286 |
| 2000s | 1,478 |
| 2010s | 754 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 362 |
What Antoinette means
Antoinette means little Antoine, and Antoine has no securely known meaning. The flower reading comes from a Renaissance guess linking it to the Greek anthos, which it does not descend from.
Where Antoinette comes from
Antoinette is a French double diminutive of Antoine, from the Roman gens name Antonius, whose derivation is open and probably Etruscan — a language only partly readable. The flower gloss entered during the Renaissance, when scholars linked Antonius to the Greek anthos, a flower, and the h in the English Anthony was inserted to match; the connection is not real but the spelling stuck. Marie Antoinette never said let them eat cake — the line appears in Rousseau's Confessions, written when she was a child in Austria.
Antoinette in use
Antoinette peaked in France in 1920, when 2,015 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now charts in two of the seven markets we track — 2854th in France on 10 births and 2998th in the United States on 55 — across 153,303 lifetime births. The two positions sit within 150 ranks of each other despite the name being wholly French in origin.
How popular is Antoinette?
In 2025, Antoinette was given to 55 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Antoinette is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Antoinette
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Antoinette also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Antoinette over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Antoinette
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.
Antoinette 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 Antoinette
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Antoinette — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Antoinette
What does the name Antoinette mean?
Little Antoine — and Antoine has no established meaning, being a Roman family name of probable Etruscan origin.
Does Anthony mean flower?
No. That came from a Renaissance guess linking Antonius to the Greek anthos, and the h was inserted to match.
Did Marie Antoinette say let them eat cake?
No. The line appears in Rousseau's Confessions, written while she was a child in Austria.
How popular is Antoinette?
2854th in France and 2998th in the United States.
Is Antoinette a girl's or a boy's name?
Antoinette is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Antoinette?
Antoinette has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Antoinette?
Antoinette is usually shortened to Toni and Nettie.
Is Antoinette a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Antoinette currently ranks #2,854 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.