| ![Show Contents]() Canton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Early Origins of the Canton familyThe surname Canton was first found in the East Riding of Yorkshire at Ganton, a parish, in the union of Scarborough, wapentake of Dickering. "The church is a large and handsome structure of the 14th century, and has an embattled tower at the west end, surmounted by a commanding spire." 1 The first record of the name was John Galmeton who held estates in that shire in the North Riding at Ganton. 2 A canton is a type of administrative division of a country, a term that dates back centuries. The term is derived from the French word canton, meaning corner or district. 3 Phonetically, it is worth noting that Centwine or Kenten (d. 685), was King of the West Saxons, the son of Cynegils and the brother of Cenwalh. "Accepting the statement of Bæda (Eccl. Hist. iv. 12) that after Cenwalh's death the under-kings of the West Saxons divided the kingdom between them for about ten years, we must hold that Centwine had considerably less power than his brother had enjoyed. The 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,' however, says nothing of any such division. " 4 Early History of the Canton familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Canton research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1234, 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Canton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Canton Spelling VariationsSound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Canton family name include Gamton, Ganton, Canton, Candon, Gandon, Ganden, Canden and many more. Early Notables of the Canton familyMore information is included under the topic Early Canton Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Canton RankingIn the United States, the name Canton is the 13,095th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5 However, in France, the name Canton is ranked the 2,472nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 6
 Canton migration to the United States | + |
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Canton surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Canton Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Christopher Canton, who landed in Maryland in 1634 7
- John Canton, who landed in Maryland in 1673 7
- Will Canton, who landed in Maryland in 1676 7
Canton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Diego Canton, who landed in Nombre de Dios, Panama in 1835 7
- James Canton, aged 22, who arrived in New York in 1854 7
- Mary Canton, aged 16, who arrived in New York in 1854 7
- Margaret Canton, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1860 7
| Contemporary Notables of the name Canton (post 1700) | + |
- Neil Canton, American BAFTA Award nominated film producer, known for his work on the Back to the Future film series
- Mark Canton (b. 1949), American film producer and executive
- Joanna Canton (b. 1978), American actress
- Frank M. Canton (1849-1927), born Josiah Horner, American Old West lawman, gunslinger, cowboy and outlaw
- John Bruce Dal Canton (1941-2008), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1967 to 1977, inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (2004)
- John Canton (1718-1772), English physicist who developed the phosphorescent material known as Canton's phosphorus, the first in England to confirm Benjamin Franklin's hypothesis of the identity of lightning and electricity 8
- Yediel Canton (b. 1986), Spanish bronze medalist figure skater
- William Canton (1845-1926), British poet, journalist and writer
- José Cantón Landazuri (1937-2013), Spanish professional football forward who played from 1956 to 1972
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 31 Oct. 2019
|
Canton migration to the United States 
