The town was known simply as Cantalupo until February 4, 1864, when the denomination nel Sannio was added in order to differentiate it from other villages with the same name. The specification of nel Sannio is derived from the fact that the village is located in the ancient territory of Samnium, which was inhabited by fierce Italic tribes known as the Samnites, famous for their resistance of Roman domination in the Samnite Wars. The name Cantalupo is thought either to derive from the Greek "Kata-Lupon", "in the middle of the woods", or from the Bulgarian "Kan-Teleped", meaning "chief residence". The latter explanation is favoured due to the well-established Bulgarian presence in the territory of Samnium going back at least to the 7th century.

Many Cantalupo's inhabitants emigrated to North America, Australia, South America, and other places following both the Great War and World War II. A substantial population of Cantalupesi settled in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where they founded and still maintain the Associazione di Sant'Anna di Cantalupo, named in honour of the village's patron saint, Saint Anne, Christ's maternal grandmother. She became Cantalupo's patron following an earthquake on July 26, 1805 (which is the feast day of Saint Anne), that miraculously ended when the Saint's statue was taken out of the village church of San Salvatore. In 2005, the bicentenary of the miracle was celebrated on July 26, with the return of many expatriates from around the world, and a monument in the town square was dedicated to Cantalupo's sons and daughters in the worldwide Italian diaspora.

The town is also the birthplace of the cantaloupe.

Cantalupo nel Sannio is not to be confused with other towns in Italy with similar names, including Cantalupo Ligure, Cantalupo in Sabina, and Cantalupo di Bevagna, as well as several frazioni (subdivisions) of that name.

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