COSTA
The surname Costa originates from the Latin word costa, meaning “rib” or “side”. It entered the European nomenclature in the Roman period and was later adopted in the Iberian Peninsula, where it became a common family name in Spain.
In Spanish and Portuguese usage the surname appears in several forms, such as Acosta, Cuesta, and the locative Costa Rica. In Italian it is found as Costa or Costi, and is sometimes prefixed with Da (e.g. Da Costa) to indicate origin from a particular place. British records also recognise the Italian form in immigration and census documentation.
The orthographic variants of the name are extensive. French derivations include Coste, Cote, Lacoste, Delacoste, and the diminutives Costel, Costeau, Cousteau, Cotteaux, Costiou, Coustet, Coustel, Coustille, Costy, and Costilla. Catalan spellings consist of Costa and Costas, while Spanish and Portuguese forms are Acosta, Costa, and Cuesta. British records for the surname found in England, such as Cost, Coste, and Costa, generally descend from a nickname for the Greek personal name Constantine introduced by Crusaders in the twelfth century.
From a topographical perspective, the name was traditionally applied to individuals who lived near a coastline, a prominent ridge, or the side of a riverbank. This utilitarian naming practice persisted into the modern era across the various linguistic jurisdictions that adopted the surname.
The earliest extant records of the surname span multiple countries. In England, the parish register of All Hallows records the marriage of Thomas Coste to Elizabeth Showner in 1547. In Spain, the civil documentation in Bagur, San Pedro, Gerona records the 1613 marriage of Sebastia Fortia Costa to Eluaria Matona. French records from La Rochelle note the 1614 nuptial of Pierre de la Coste with Maria Dupuys. In the United States, a christening register at San Francisco parishues the birth of Mary Catherine Costa in 1875. The name’s first known use in Spain is shown in the 1612 baptismal entry for Miguel Martinez Costa at Miranda de Arga, Navarra, during the reign of King Philip VI.
Associated with the surname is a heraldic description in which the chevron, a gold cross-shaped figure, is pierced by a man’s rib, also gold, set upon a blue field. Two red roses appear beneath the chevron, while a gold chief bears a black imperial eagle displayed. This design is recorded in archival armorial collections and is frequently cited in genealogical studies of families bearing the name.
Typical given names associated with the Costa surname
Male
- Antonio
- Carlos
- Daniel
- David
- George
- Joao
- Jose
- Luis
- Manuel
- Michael
- Paulo
- Pedro
Female
- Alexandra
- Ana
- Anne
- Carla
- Claudia
- Cristina
- Isabel
- Karen
- Maria
- Monica
- Patricia
- Paula
- Sandra
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Costa in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Costa are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Viennese swirl.
There are approximately 3,930 people named Costa in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,376th most common surname in Britain. Around 60 in a million people in Britain are named Costa.
Origin: Iberian
Region of origin: Europe
Country of origin: Spain
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Spanish
Famous people named Costa
- Antony Costa - Musician and actor
- Diego Costa - Spanish football player
- Alberto Costa - Politician
- Margaret Jull Costa - Translator of Portuguese and Spanish literature
- Sam Costa - Singer (1910 to 1981)
- David Costa -
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.