Show ContentsCanty History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Canty family

The surname Canty was first found in Suffolk where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The family name was first referenced in the year 1327, when John Gameday held estates in the county. The name was originally Gandow.

Alternatively, the name could have been Norman in origin and in this case, the name was from Candé, near Blois. "Nicholas Candie occurs in Normandy, 1195" according to the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. [1]

Early History of the Canty family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Canty research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1455, 1487, 1619, 1661, 1689, 1714 and 1729 are included under the topic Early Canty History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canty Spelling Variations

Sound 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 Canty family name include Gandy, Gandey, Gameday, Candy, Candey, Ganty, Canty and many more.

Early Notables of the Canty family

Distinguished members of the family include James Gandy (1619-1689), one of the earliest native English portrait-painter from Exeter.He is stated to have been a pupil of Vandyck, and to have acquired to some degree the style of that master. "He has even been supposed to have assisted Vandyck by painting the drapery in his pictures. In 1661 he was taken to Ireland by his patron, the Duke of Ormonde, and remained there until his death in 1689." [2]William Gandy (d. 1729), was a portrait-painter, son of James Gandy [q. v.], probably born in Ireland. "He was for some years an...
Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Canty Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Canty Ranking

In the United States, the name Canty is the 3,097th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [3]


United States Canty 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 Canty surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Canty Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Martha Canty, who settled in South Carolina between 1670 and 1674
Canty Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Flora Canty, who died in Massachusetts in 1853
  • Mathilde Canty, aged 26, who landed in New York in 1854 [4]
  • Pierre Canty, aged 27, who landed in New York in 1854 [4]
  • Ann Canty, who settled in Albany, NY in 1854-1856
  • J Canty, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1856 [4]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Canty Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Bridget Canty, who arrived in Vermont in 1836-1914

Canada Canty migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Canty Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Canty, who settled in Quebec in 1804
  • John Canty, who went New Brunswick between 1833 and 1838
  • Cornelius Canty, aged 26, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Hibernia" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Denis Canty, aged 30, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • Nelly Canty, aged 21, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Canty migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Canty Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Canty, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl of Liverpool" in December 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [5]
  • Mr. James Canty, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia [6]
  • Ellen Canty, aged 21, a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Fatima" [7]

New Zealand Canty migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Canty Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Thomas Canty, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
  • Miss. Agnes Canty, (b. 1838), aged 22, British cook travelling from London aboard the ship "Gananoque" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 9th May 1860 [8]

West Indies Canty migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [9]
Canty Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century
  • James Canty, who landed in Cuba in 1819

Contemporary Notables of the name Canty (post 1700) +

  • Kevin Canty (b. 1953), American author of novels and short stories
  • Amanda Ashley Canty (b. 1986), American actress, known for her roles in Betrayal (2011), Awol (2011) and Actor (2013)
  • Marcus Canty (b. 1991), American R&B and soul singer and dancer
  • Marietta Canty (1905-1986), American movie actress, known for her roles in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Father's Little Dividend (1951) and Father of the Bride (1950)
  • Brendan Canty (b. 1966), American drummer
  • Dominique Danyell Canty (b. 1977), American professional basketball player
  • Chris Canty, American former defensive back
  • Kevin Canty, American author
  • Judy Canty (1931-2016), Australian athlete who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics
  • Kevin Canty (b. 1986), Irish hurler
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Hood
  • Mr. William D Canty (b. 1916), English Yeoman of Signals serving for the Royal Navy from Battersea, London, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking [10]
HMS Repulse
  • Mr. John Daniel Canty, British Stoker 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking [11]


  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. 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)
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-of-liverpool
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
  7. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque FATIMA 1850, 521 tons. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Fatima.htm
  8. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  10. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  11. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook