Explore the Family Name Cant

The meaning of Cant

1. English and Scottish: nickname from Middle English cant, caunt ‘bold, brave, fierce’. 2. English and Scottish: from Old French cant, caunt ‘song’; see Chant. 3. Americanized form of German Kant.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Cant in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Cant has seen a slight increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, the surname ranked 63,812 in popularity and increased to a ranking of 62,531 in 2010, showing a 2.01% change. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 292 to 320, marking a 9.59% increase. Despite these fluctuations, the proportion of people with the Cant surname per 100,000 remained static at 0.11 in both census years.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#63,812	#62,531	2.01%
Count	292	320	9.59%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.11	0%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cant

In terms of ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some shifts for those with the Cant surname between 2000 and 2010. While in 2000 there were no individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander or multiple races identified with this name, by 2010, there was a small percentage (1.56%) identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander. Conversely, the percentage of individuals identifying as White decreased by 6.24%, from 86.99% to 81.56%. The Hispanic representation saw a significant increase, up by 206.63% to reach 11.56%. However, the percentage of individuals identifying as Black dropped by 27.96% to 4.69%. There were no individuals who identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either census year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	86.99%	81.56%	-6.24%
Hispanic	3.77%	11.56%	206.63%
Black	6.51%	4.69%	-27.96%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.56%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%