Of Roman origin.
A form of the name Anthony.
From Antonius, seems to have come from the Etruscan language.
It was the family name of a known Roman family. General Marcus Antonius, the most notable member of this family, ruled the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC.
Feminine forms of the name are Antonia, Antonija, Donka.
Alternative forms of the name are Antonio, Andon, Ton, Anto, Antoine, Antonio, Toninho.
Famous bearers are Anton Chekhov, Anton Rubistein, Anton Corbijn, Anton Yelchin, Anton Ferdinand.
Anton is a popular name in Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland.
Additional information about the Ancient Roman naming system:
According to the Roman naming rules, the basic elements of Roman names were three. A “praenomen”, a “nomen”, and a “cognomen”.
A “praenomen” was the first name, indicating the personal name.
A “nomen” was the second name, indicating the ‘gens’ to which the bearer of the name belonged to. Gens, meaning the group of families sharing a common “nomen”.
“Nomen” would stand as the group of loosely connected families claiming common ancestors. “Nomen” were always patrilinear, meaning from the father.
A “cognomen” was the third name and was something like the surname. Cognomina (plural of cognomen) were usually inherited. They were rarely given to the bearer by general consensus by the prominent members of the community.
There were several types of “cognomina”, such as geographical, adoptive, occupational, etc. In very rare cases the “cognomina” could be metronymic, meaning from the mother’s “nomen”.