Toney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Italy

Toney is one of the surnames to have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, was one of the most common names created at that time in the region of Tuscany. The surname Toney came from the given name Antonius, which in English is known in the forms Anthony and Antony. The given name Antonius means inestimable or strength. The Toney family surname has its roots in the ancient Roman period and possibly earlier, in the Etruscan period. The most famous member of this family is Marc Antony (Marcus Antonius), the famous Roman general, politician and orator born in 83 B.C. Antony was of a distinguished family related to Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassination Antony aroused the masses against the conspirators who murdered his relative and patron. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of his life was his love affair with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The tragic end of this couple has been the subject of much literature, including one of Shakespeare's plays.

Early History of the Toney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Toney research. The years 1355, 1372, 1374, 1430, 1540, 1617, 1643, 1668, 1684, 1697, 1700, 1725, 1726 and 1732 are included under the topic Early Toney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Toney Spelling Variations

Italian surnames have a surprising number of forms in comparison with other European surnames because they reflect the regional variations and the many dialects of the Italian language, each of which has its distinctive features. For example, in Northern Italy the most standard Italian surname suffix is "I", whereas in Southern Italy the most typical surname suffix is "O". Sardinian is very different from other forms of Italian and in fact, it is considered to be its own distinct language. Additionally, spelling changes frequently occurred because medieval scribes, church officials, and the bearers of names, spelled names as they sounded rather than according to any specific spelling rules. As a consequence of the major changes in the Italian language and in the local spellings of Italian surnames that occurred over the course of history, there are numerous variations for the surname Toney. These spelling variations include Antony, Anthony, Antni, Antnia, Antnio, Antoni, Antonia, Antonio, De Antoni, Di Antonio, Antonèllo, D'Antonio, Antonello, Antonelli, Antonetti, Antonetto, Antonietti, Antonazzi, Antonazzo, Antoniutti, Antonioli, Antuoni, Antonino, Antonicelli, Antonucci, Antognini, Antognetti, Antognoli, Toni, Tony, Tonelli, Tonicello, Tonello, Tonino, Tonini, Tonizzo, Tonolli and many more.

Early Notables of the Toney family

Prominent among members of the family was Antonia of Baux (c. 1355-1374), the second Queen consort of Frederick III, King of Sicily (1372-1374.) Antonio de Messina, was a painter in Messina, born in 1430. He specialized in still life, his most famous work is "St. Jerome in His Study" which is on display in the art gallery in London England today. Silvio Antonio was a humanist scholar born in...
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Toney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Toney Ranking

In the United States, the name Toney is the 1,470^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 1

Toney migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Toney were

Toney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Toney, who arrived in New York, NY in 1841 2
J T Toney, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
Patrick Toney, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1876
John Toney, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1877

Toney migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Toney Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Toney who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st March 1831, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3

Toney migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Toney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Toney, aged 28, a gardener, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842
Hannah Toney, aged 4, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Clifton" in 1842

Contemporary Notables of the name Toney (post 1700) +

Kevin Kraig Toney (b. 1953), American jazz keyboardist, former member of The Blackbyrds
Fred Toney (1888-1953), American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals
Heather McTeer Toney, American politician, environmentalist, attorney, appointed Regional Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Southeast region by President Barack Obama in 2014
Oscar Toney (b. 1939), American soul singer
Anthony Toney (b. 1962), former professional American football running back
Andrew Toney (b. 1957), American former NBA professional basketball player
Ivan Benjamin Elijah Toney (b. 1996), English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Brentford
James "Lights-Out" Toney (b. 1968), American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2017and held multiple world championships in three weight classes
Brigadier-General Josiah Toney Dalbey (1898-1964), American Assistant Commanding General 5th Division (1948) 4
Toney T. Hernandez, American Republican politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives 25th District, 1966 5

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 10) Josiah Dalbey. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Dalbey/Josiah_Toney/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html