2000
#793
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,601
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.68
Uncommon Last name
Cantu
An Italian occupational surname referring to a singer or someone who sings.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 55,175 Americans carry the last name Cantu. That puts it at #691 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.10 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,212 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cantu surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
55K
1 in 6,212
Census rank
#691
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
48K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 48,115 bearers of the surname Cantu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.10 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 691st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cantu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cantu
The surname Cantu originated in Italy and has been present since the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "cantus," which means "song" or "melody." The name likely referred to individuals who were singers, musicians, or worked in professions related to music.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Cantu name can be found in the Codice Diplomatico Longobardo, a collection of historical documents from the Lombard period in Italy, dating back to the 8th century. The name appears in various forms, such as "Cantus," "Cantutus," and "Cantuti," suggesting it was a common surname in certain regions of Italy during that time.
In the 11th century, the Cantu surname is mentioned in the Cartulario della Chiesa di San Pietro di Bologna, an ecclesiastical record from the city of Bologna. This document provides evidence of the name's presence in that region during the Middle Ages.
Notable individuals with the Cantu surname include:
1. Francesco Cantu (1809-1895), an Italian historian and writer known for his works on Italian history, such as "Storia Universale" (Universal History).
2. Cesare Cantu (1804-1895), an Italian writer, poet, and literary critic who authored several works on Italian literature and history.
3. Gaetano Cantu (1834-1914), an Italian architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Milan, including the Palazzo della Borsa (Stock Exchange Building).
4. Giovanni Cantu (1518-1592), an Italian painter and sculptor active during the Renaissance period, known for his works in churches and palaces in Naples and other parts of southern Italy.
5. Antonio Cantu (1765-1822), an Italian composer and music theorist who contributed to the development of opera and sacred music in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Cantu surname has also been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Cantu, a town in the province of Como, Lombardy. The town's name is derived from the Latin word "cantus," further reinforcing the connection between the surname and its musical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cantu
Among Census respondents with the surname Cantu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cantu bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cantu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.6% · 43,609
- White8.0% · 3,868
- Two or more races0.4% · 216
- Black or African American0.3% · 158
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 138
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 126
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cantu
Cantu appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#704
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,126
+9,525 bearers (+24.1%)
Per 100,000 16.65
Rank movement Up 89 places
2020
#691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 48,115
-1,011 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 16.10
Rank movement Up 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #793 | 39,601 | 14.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #704 | 49,126 | 16.65 | +9,525 bearers (+24.1%) | Up 89 places |
| 2020 | #691 | 48,115 | 16.10 | -1,011 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 13 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cantu surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #704 | #691 | 1.8% |
| Count | 49,126 | 48,115 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 16.65 | 16.10 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cantu bearers went from 49,126 to 48,115 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #704 to #691.
FAQ
Cantu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cantu?
Name Census estimates that about 55,175 living Americans carry the surname Cantu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,212 residents.
How common is Cantu?
Cantu ranks #691 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.10 per 100,000 residents, which is about 16 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 48,115 people with the surname Cantu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (55,175), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.10 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 16 of them to have the surname Cantu.
Has Cantu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cantu went from 49,126 recorded bearers to 48,115. That is a decrease of 1,011 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #704 to #691.
What does the Census say about the background of Cantu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cantu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.6%. The next largest groups are White (8.0%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cantu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (43,609 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cantu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.6%), White (8.0%), Two or More Races (0.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cantu (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cantu mean?
An Italian occupational surname referring to a singer or someone who sings. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cantu (16.10 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Cantu?
If you just want to know how common the surname Cantu is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.