Canter (surname)

Canter is a surname. It is or has been borne in different countries by various unrelated families or families with no known connection to each other. These include English(?)-American Canters whose earliest known possible ancestor is an 18th-century Thomas Canter of Maryland;[1] Jewish-American Canters such as the Kentucky author Mark Canter and the Canter family that opened Canter's Deli in Los Angeles;[2] a learned medieval and early modern Canter family of Groningen and Friesland, prominent in various branches of learning and in politics;[3] Canters who are related to the Caunter family of Devon,[4] etc.

In Britain, the early examples of the surname Canter are all from Latin cantor and refer to precentors in cathedrals or monasteries. The surname also occurs as a derivation from Anglo-Norman caunter/cauntour, 'singer, one who leads the singing'.[5]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Andreas Canter (1463–between 1509 and 1516), Dutch humanist prodigy and poet
• Bernard Canter (1870–1956), Jewish-Dutch author, journalist, playwright, painter, and designer
• Brian Canter (1987), American professional bull rider
• Dan Canter (1961–2020), American soccer defender
• David Canter (died 1981), food writer and co-founder of English vegetarian restaurant chain Cranks
• David Canter (born 1944), British psychologist
• David E. Canter (born 1973), American sports agent
• Deborah D. Canter, American dietician, lecturer, and writer on dietetics
• Dirck Canter (c. 1545–1617), Dutch scholar and mayor of Utrecht
• Ernst Canter (1888–1956), German WWI officer and air force pilot
• Gelmer Canter (fl. 1500, d. after 1520), Dutch librarian and diplomat
• Ghebbe Canter (fl. c. 1500), Dutch humanist and nun
• Hilda Mabel Canter (1922–2007), English mycologist, protozoologist, and photographer
• Howard Vernon Canter (1873–1942), American classical scholar, wrote on Latin philology and ancient Rome
• Jacob Canter (also Jacobus; 1469–1529), Dutch pastor, poet, and humanist
• Jacob Canter (fl. 1500), Dutch mayor of Leeuwarden
• Joachim Canter (fl. 1600), Dutch politician in Groningen province
• Jean-Christophe Canter (born 1960), French politician
• Johannes Canter (1424–1497), Dutch humanist and astronomer
• Johannes Canter the Younger (d. after 1527), Dutch humanist, astrologer, and physician
• John David Canter, Irish novelist
• Jon Canter, English sitcom and comedy writer
• Jonathan Canter (born 1965), American tennis player
• Jonathan D. Canter, American attorney and novelist
• Juan Canter (born 1895), Argentine historian and writer
• Karl Canter (1889–1979), German legal practitioner and civil servant
• Karl Frederick Canter (1944–2006), American pioneer of experimental positron physics
• Kay Canter (died 2007), food writer and co-founder of English vegetarian restaurant chain Cranks
• Kieran Canter, American actor
• Lambertus Canter (1513-1553), Dutch jurist and man of letters
• Larry W. Canter (died 2020), American environmental engineer, lecturer, and writer on environmental issues
• Laurence Canter (born 1953), American lawyer and Usenet spammer
• Laurie Canter (born 1989), English golfer
• Lee Canter, American educationalist and co-developer of the assertive discipline method
• Marc Canter, American IT professional and multimedia pioneer
• Marc Canter, American Guns N' Roses photographer and author of Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction (2008)
• Mark Canter (born 1952), American journalist and writer
• Marlene Canter, American educationalist and co-developer of the assertive discipline method
• Mathilda B. Canter (1924–2015), American psychologist
• Miriam Canter, American writer and editor of cookbooks
• Rosalind Canter (born 1986), British equestrian
• Rosemary Canter, British publisher and literary agent
• Sheryl Canter, American psychologist, counsellor, writer, and programmer
• Theodor Canter (1545-1617), Dutch classical philologist
• Ursula Canter (fl. c. 1500), Dutch humanist
• Willem Canter (1542–1575), Dutch classical scholar