A Mexican, Spanish and Italian surname, the name Cantu comes from the Latin term ‘catu’ refers to something circular or a rolling stone. A spelling variation for Cantu is Cantuti. It is a very popular and common surname in Mexico, especially around Monterrey and close to the Mexico and United States border. There are also families with the Cantu name in Italy. They originated in the Lombardy region. Within the United States the Cantu family name is primarily in Texas, New Mexico, Florida, California, Arizona and Colorado. Famous: Rolando Cantu (professional football player from Mexico), Homaro Cantu (professional chef and businessman), Jorge Luis Cantu (professional baseball player from Mexico) and Cesare Cantu (19th century literary historian and writer in Italy).