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; Jewish-American Canters such as the Kentucky author Mark Canter and the Canter family that opened Canter's Deli in Los Angeles; a learned medieval and early modern Canter family of Groningen and Friesland, prominent in various branches of learning and in politics; Canters who are related to the Caunter family of Devon, 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'.

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