Tonny
Variation of Antony, derived from the Latin name Antonius meaning "priceless one".
Name Census estimates that about 793 living Americans carry the first name Tonny. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Tonny today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Tonny births was 1964 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Tonny. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Tonny with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
793
~ 1 in 432,225 Americans
Peak year
1964
23 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,007
Tracked since 1925
Census
Tonny in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,040 people with the first name Tonny, which placed it at #12,092 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,092
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,040 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
32.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tonny
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tonny is Black at 32.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.9%) and Hispanic (22.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Tonny described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Tonny at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American32.6% · 339
- Asian and Pacific Islander23.9% · 249
- Hispanic or Latino22.5% · 234
- White18.8% · 195
- Two or more races2.2% · 23
Popularity
Tonny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Tonny from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 192 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Tonny by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Tonny during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Tonnys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Tonny, while Mississippi, Texas, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Tonny
The name Tonny originates from the Old Germanic language, derived from the word "tun," which means "enclosure" or "settlement." It was a common name among the ancient Germanic tribes, particularly in the regions of modern-day Germany and Scandinavia.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Tonny gained popularity across Europe, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon and Norman cultures. It was often used as a diminutive form of the name Anthony, which itself has roots in the Latin name Antonius.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Tonny can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book lists several individuals with the name Tonny, indicating its usage among the Norman aristocracy of the time.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Tonny. One of the most well-known is Tonny of Normandy (c. 1035 - 1089), a Norman nobleman who played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England and later served as the Earl of Shrewsbury.
Another prominent figure was Tonny Kempe (c. 1380 - 1443), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1436. He was known for his philanthropic efforts and contribution to the construction of several churches and hospitals in London.
In the 16th century, Tonny Savanarola (1452 - 1498) was an Italian Dominican friar and a renowned preacher, known for his scathing critiques of the corruption within the Catholic Church and his calls for moral and religious reform.
During the Renaissance period, Tonny Cellini (1500 - 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and writer, renowned for his exceptional craftsmanship and his autobiography, which provides valuable insights into the life and culture of 16th-century Italy.
In more recent times, Tonny Burgess (1920 - 2017) was an American actor and dancer, best known for his roles in classic Hollywood musicals such as "Anchors Aweigh" and "Gypsy."
While the name Tonny has seen a decline in popularity in recent decades, it remains a part of cultural and historical significance, carrying with it the echoes of ancient civilizations and the stories of remarkable individuals who have shaped the course of history.
People
Tonny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Tonny as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Tonny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Tonny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 793 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Tonny going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 432,225 US residents.
Is Tonny a common name?
We classify Tonny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 896 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Tonny most popular?
The single biggest year for Tonny was 1964, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Tonny is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Tonny in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,040 people with the name Tonny, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,092 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Tonny in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Tonny?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Tonny leans strongly male. 975 people counted with this name were male (93.9%), compared with 63 female bearers (6.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Tonny?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Tonny is Black at 32.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (23.9%) and Hispanic (22.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Tonny most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Tonny in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.6% (339 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Tonny in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Tonny a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Tonny in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Tonny still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Tonny in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Tonny can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Tonny?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.