Tony

Tony, as most people already know, is a short form (nickname) of Anthony, but the name Tony is used fairly often as an independent name on its own. This was done especially often in the 1970's and 1980's, leading to Tony (independently of Anthony) being a top 100 name for boys in those decades. If you really like this name, and I always have, it's still a great name to give to your baby boy--but I'd strongly recommend actually naming him Anthony and then calling him Tony. The reason for this is to give him the opportunity to choose for himself when he's older whether he wants to use the informal Tony or the more formal Anthony, which might be better for a business career. Tonys who are famous as "Tony," whether or not they are really "Anthony" include Tony Blair, Tony Bennett, Tony Danza, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, and accoustic guitar genius Tony Rice, to name only a few. The lesson to be learned here is that despite my previous advice about naming a kid Anthony, obviously being called (or named) Tony doesn't seem to hurt a person's chances of rising to the top of the heap in politics, acting, sports, or music. Name him Anthony anyway.