kante

Kante, also written Kanté, is a surname of West African origin. In francophone regions it is commonly associated with Mandé-speaking communities, particularly in Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Senegal, and it has spread to diaspora populations in France and other countries. The spelling Kanté with the acute accent is common in French-language contexts, while Anglicized forms appear without the accent in other settings.

Notable bearers include N'Golo Kanté (born 1991), a French professional footballer who has represented the France national team and played for major clubs such as Chelsea. Beyond this name’s most famous bearer, Kanté is carried by numerous individuals across sports, politics, and the arts, reflecting its broad regional distribution.

In onomastic usage, Kanté is treated as a family name and is one of several common Mandé surnames in West Africa. Variants and transliterations arise from differences in language, colonial-era spelling conventions, and migration, leading to spellings such as Kante or Kanté in different countries.