The curious name Anfernee debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1992 and reached peak usage in 1996:
- 1998: 102 baby boys named Anfernee
- 1997: 171 baby boys named Anfernee [rank: 838th]
- 1996: 300 baby boys named Anfernee [rank: 597th]
- 1995: 246 baby boys named Anfernee [rank: 669th]
- 1994: 84 baby boys named Anfernee
- 1993: 42 baby boys named Anfernee
- 1992: 21 baby boys named Anfernee [debut]
- 1991: unlisted
This corresponds to the rise of Tennessee-born basketball player Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.
He played for two seasons at Memphis State before being selected third overall in the 1993 NBA draft.
As a professional, Anfernee spent his first six seasons with the Orlando Magic. During that time, he was voted an NBA All-Star four times in a row, from 1995 to 1998.
So how did he come to be called “Anfernee”? Here’s how his mother, Fae, explained it:
When I was in school at Lester High, there had been a boy named Anfernee. I always thought it was such a beautiful name. People think I don’t know how to spell Anthony. His nickname, Penny? That came from Mama. She called him Pretty, but in the country, that comes out ‘Pweddy.’ People just took it from there.
(Anfernee was raised largely by Fae’s mother, Louise, a former sharecropper.)
Among Anfernee Hardaway’s namesakes are baseball player Anfernee Grier (born in 1995), basketball player Anfernee Simons (b. 1999), and football players Anfernee Jennings (b. 1996) and Anfernee Orji (b. 2000).
What are your thoughts on the name Anfernee?
Sources:
- Penny Hardaway – Wikipedia
- Wiley, Ralph. “A Daunting Proposition.” Sports Illustrated 12 Aug. 1991.
- SSA
Image: Anfernee Hardaway trading card