Explore the Family Name Cantara

The meaning of Cantara

Italian (Sardinia): variant of Cantaro, from cantaro ‘night pot’, presumably applied as a derogatory nickname. This surname is also found in Corsica. Some characteristic forenames: French Alcide, Laurier, Patrice.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Cantara ranks 36,204 in popularity as of 2010, reflecting a marginal decrease of 0.04% from its 2000 ranking of 36,189. The count of individuals with this surname increased by 5.81%, rising from 585 in 2000 to 619 in 2010. However, when considered as a proportion per 100,000 people, the prevalence of the name Cantara slightly dropped by 4.55% within the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#36,189	#36,204	-0.04%
Count	585	619	5.81%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.21	-4.55%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Cantara

Regarding ethnicity distribution, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals interesting shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of the Asian/Pacific Islander community bearing the surname Cantara saw the most significant rise, escalating by 330.29% to constitute 11.79% of all Cantaras. On the other hand, there was a marked decrease in the proportion of white Cantaras, falling by 12.12% to 79.32%. The Hispanic community showed an upward trend, growing by 40.19% to make up 7.43% of Cantaras. The proportions of those identifying with two or more races shrunk slightly, while the percentages for Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native remained constant, with no reported Cantaras in these categories.

	2000	2010	Change
White	90.26%	79.32%	-12.12%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.74%	11.79%	330.29%
Hispanic	5.3%	7.43%	40.19%
Two or More Races	1.37%	0.97%	-29.2%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%