Find out how popular the last name Kantar is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kantar.

Kantar, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kantar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kantar in America

Kantar is the 92358th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kantar surname appeared 199 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kantar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kantar to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Kantar

The surname KANTAR has its origins in the Middle East, particularly in the region now known as Iran and surrounding areas. It is believed to have derived from the Persian word "kantar," which referred to a unit of weight measurement used in ancient times.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name KANTAR can be found in the "Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi," a collection of poetry by the renowned Persian poet Rumi, who lived in the 13th century. The name appears in several of his poems, suggesting that it was already in use during that time period.

In the 14th century, a merchant named Hasan al-Kantar was mentioned in the chronicles of the Mamluk Sultanate, which ruled over parts of the Levant and Egypt. This historical reference provides further evidence of the name's presence in the region during the medieval era.

As trade routes expanded and people migrated, the name KANTAR spread to various parts of the Middle East and beyond. One notable figure bearing this surname was Muhammad al-Kantar, a 16th-century Ottoman scholar and jurist from Damascus, Syria.

In the 19th century, a prominent Egyptian politician and diplomat named Nubar Pasha Kantar played a significant role in the modernization efforts of the Ottoman Empire. He served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1888 to 1892.

Another noteworthy individual with the KANTAR surname was Samir Kantar, a Lebanese former prisoner of war who was released in a prisoner exchange deal in 2008 after spending nearly three decades in Israeli captivity.

Throughout history, variations of the KANTAR surname have also been recorded, such as Kantari, Qantar, and Kanter, reflecting regional linguistic differences and spelling variations.

While the surname KANTAR has its roots in the Middle East, it has since been carried by individuals across various countries and cultures, contributing to its rich historical tapestry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kantar

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kantar.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kantar was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kantar has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kantar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kantar, please contact us.

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