Canté


Canté is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.
This famous surname recorded in the spellings of Cante, Conte, Comte and Conti, is of Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese origins. It derives from the Latin 'comptus' meaning 'order or control', and such in the Roman Empire it applied to officials of rank responsible for administering a small region. Later it was adopted as a major mark of nobility throughout much of Europe. Various noble prefixes are often attached to the name. One such Italian family were the 'Princes de Conti', in France 'Le Comte de St. Jean' and in Languedoc the 'Conte de Tauriers'. Examples of the surname recording from church records include Juan Cante, who married Anna Maria Vicens, at La Bisbal, Santa Maria, Gerona on May 2, 1750, whilst in the USA Corina Ida Conti, the daughter of Domenico Conti, was christened at Tomales, California on June 19, 1893. The coat of arms most associated with this distinguished surname is probably that of a red lion rampant regardant set on a gold field. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Lucretia Cante, which was dated December 12, 1577, christened at Messina, Italy, during the reign of Pope Gregory XIII, reigned from 1572 to 1585.

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