Tony History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Italy

A variety of distinguished and notable names have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany, including the notable surname Tony. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, people in Tuscany, who had been going by a single name, 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 name types of name created in this region. The surname Tony was created 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 Tony 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 Tony family

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

Tony Spelling Variations

Enormous variation in spelling and form characterizes those Italian names that originated in the medieval era. This is caused by two main factors: regional tradition, and inaccuracies in the recording process. Before the last few hundred years, scribes spelled names according to their sounds. Spelling variations were the unsurprising result. The variations of Tony 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 Tony 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 Tony Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tony migration to the United States +

Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Tony:

Tony Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Tony, who landed in Virginia in 1666 1

Tony 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:

Tony Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Tony, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840

Contemporary Notables of the name Tony (post 1700) +

Anthony Tony Tarracino (1916-2008), American politician, Mayor of Key West, Florida, 1989-91; Defeated, 1991 2
Mitchell Tony Oxborrow (b. 1995), Australian footballer for Perth Glory in the A-League, member of the Australia U-17 National Team in 2011 and the Australia U-20 National Team (2012-)
Garda Tony Golden (d. 2015), Irish officer of the Garda Síochána who was shot in a murder-suicide attack near Omeath, County Louth on 11 October 2015
John Tony Salazar (b. 1953), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Colorado State House of Representatives, 2003-04; U.S. Representative from Colorado 3rd District, 2005- 3
Tony Jacklin CBE (b. 1944), English retired golfer, the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1969 and 1970, inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002
Tony Tuff (1955-2024), born as Winston Anthony Morris, was a Jamaican reggae singer and a member of The African Brothers
Tony Tim Henriksen (b. 1973), former Danish footballer
Tony Adeane (1952-2024), New Zealand lawyer and judge
Tony Tarantino (1940-2023), American actor and producer, father of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino
Tony Oxley (1938-2023), English free improvising drummer from Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, one of the founders of Incus Records

Citations +

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html