The Cantwell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,635 people carried this name — #5,259 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 44,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 6,478 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cantwell surname

Perhaps a variant of Canwell, a habitational surname.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cantwell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Kentwell’.

An early record he cites: Gilbert de Kentewelle, Suffolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 158 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 15 births for the Cantwell name in 1890.

Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Tipperary and Dublin.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 8
Munster 7

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In print

Cantwell in American newspapers,
1914–1915.

Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Cantwell
The Hattiesburg News 1914-06-18
Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Cantwell
The Hattiesburg News 1915-03-20
Newspaper page from The Hattiesburg News carrying the name Cantwell
The Hattiesburg News 1915-03-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 32,392 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cantwell in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1980s.

12,433 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cantwell. The most, 3,206, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 5,255
New South Wales 3,406
Queensland 1,985
Western Australia 915
South Australia 403
Tasmania 393
ACT (Canberra) 32
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cantwell.

Who carried it

People named Cantwell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Albert Richard Cantwell d. 1927 · head teacher
  • Richard Cantwell d. 2014 · university teacher
  • Harry A. Cantwell d. 1972 · physician
  • Oliver Cantwell d. 1526 · Catholic priest
  • John Cantwell d. 1451 · Catholic priest
  • Sara Cantwell d. 1928

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cantwell,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,421 records

1,421 records of the Cantwell name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 493
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 284
  • Other U.S. records 644
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Lavielle L. Cantwell

    Born 1926 in Kansas. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Leavenworth; farmer from Reno County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Sterling Community Cemetery, Kansas.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Kenneth James Cantwell

    Born 1947; from Arlington, Texas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Vinh Long, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Cantwell

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 26; laborer. From London, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,421 records for Cantwell in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia612 records

612 records of the Cantwell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 186
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 185
  • Other Australian records 241
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Sarah Ann Cantwell

    Born 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1903 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Edward Cantwell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Guildford, arriving 1818; certificate of freedom 1824.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michael Cantwell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Wings of the Morning, aged 24; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 612 records for Cantwell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada112 records

112 records of the Cantwell name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 97
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Irene Marie Cantwell

    Buried in 1979 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 51.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Cantwell

    Died 1935 in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Gerard Joseph Michael Cantwell

    Died in service in 1942.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 112 records for Cantwell in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom7 records

7 records of the Cantwell name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 3
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Flora Cole Cantwell

    Buried in 1845 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. R. Cantwell

    Royal Garrison Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Cantwell

    Cheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Cantwell in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Cantwell name in New Zealand
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 3
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bryan John Cantwell

    Died 1995, aged 69; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Francis Dennis Cantwell

    Died 1997, aged 75; buried at Avonhead Memorial Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Harry Francis Cantwell

    Died 1985, aged 67; buried at Picton Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Cantwell in New Zealand.

Counts: Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cantwell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cantwell is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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