girl's name
Antonia
an-TOH-nee-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 4
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 53,811
Northern Ireland
#324
2022 births
Antonia has no known meaning, and the flower reading given everywhere is a Renaissance invention — humanists attached the Greek anthos to a Roman family name that has never been explained. The h in Anthony arrived by the same mistake.
- Antonia is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1996, when 678 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 18,945 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 4 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Antonia 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 | 276 |
| 1890s | 456 |
| 1900s | 610 |
| 1910s | 2,035 |
| 1920s | 3,179 |
| 1930s | 2,281 |
| 1940s | 2,748 |
| 1950s | 3,338 |
| 1960s | 3,014 |
| 1970s | 3,733 |
| 1980s | 3,944 |
| 1990s | 4,321 |
| 2000s | 3,267 |
| 2010s | 2,405 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,233 |
What Antonia means
Antonia has no established meaning. The Roman gens name behind it resists derivation, and the priceless and flower readings were both attached long after the fact.
Where Antonia comes from
Antonia is the feminine of the Roman Antonius, a gens name of unknown and probably Etruscan origin. Two glosses circulate and neither is sound: priceless, which has no basis at all, and flower, from the Greek anthos — a Renaissance humanist association that also explains the h that crept into Anthony's English spelling. Mark Antony is the best-known bearer, and his daughter Antonia Minor was grandmother to Caligula and mother to Claudius.
Antonia in use
Antonia peaked in the United States in 1996, when 678 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 440th in England and Wales on 91 births, 447th in Scotland on 7, 511th in Ireland on 7, 680th in France on 60 and 1279th in the United States on 175, across 53,811 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. The United States ranks it lowest of the five.
How popular is Antonia?
In 2025, Antonia was given to 175 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Antonia 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 Antonia
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Antonia also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Antonia over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Antonia
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.
Antonia 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.
- Azerbaijani
- Antoniya
- Danish
- Anthonia
- Dutch
- Antoinette Antonette Antonetta Anthonia
- Finnish
- Anthonia
- French
- Antoinette
- Italian
- Antonella
- Polish
- Antonina
- Russian
- Antonina
- Serbian
- Antonina
- Swedish
- Anthonia
- Ukrainian
- Antonina
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Antionette
Sibling names for Antonia
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Antonia — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Antonia
What does the name Antonia mean?
Nothing established. The Roman Antonius is probably Etruscan and unexplained.
Does it mean flower?
No. That is a Renaissance association with the Greek anthos, attached long after the fact.
Why does Anthony have an h?
The same humanist association put it there. The Latin has no h.
Where is Antonia used?
Five of our six markets, and the United States ranks it lowest of them.
How popular is the name Antonia?
In 2025, Antonia was given to 175 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Antonia a girl's or a boy's name?
Antonia is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Antonia?
Antonia has 4 syllables.
When was Antonia most popular?
Antonia peaked in 1996, when 678 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Antonia?
Antonia is usually shortened to Toni.
Is Antonia a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Antonia currently ranks #440 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.