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    The surname Costa

    A Latin surname, carried by 38,265 people in the United States.

    2 syllables Soundex C230

    Costa: #904 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Costa #904, 38,265 people Costa: #904 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Costa #904, 38,265 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Costa is more common than 99.4% of them.

    Origin

    Latin origin

    From pan-Romance (Portuguese Costa, Galician Costa, Spanish Costa, Catalan Costa, Occitan Costa, French Costa, Italian Costa), from Latin costa (“rib; side”).

    One of 91 Latin surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 38,265 people named Costa in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,069 Americans. That is up 8.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 35,227.

    #904
    rank among US surnames
    38,265
    people in 2010
    13
    per 100,000 Americans
    +8.6%
    change since 2000 (was #900)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #895McKay38,6817,982
    #896Espinosa38,6677,985
    #897Rivers38,6627,986
    #898Farley38,5288,014
    #899Bernard38,5128,017
    #900Ashley38,4998,020
    #901Friedman38,3748,046

    Who is named Costa

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    83% of people named Costa identified as white (not Hispanic), 10% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 2.3% as Black (not Hispanic).

    • White (not Hispanic) 83%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 10%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 2.3%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.8%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Costas

    65 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Diego Costa
      Brazilian association football player, born 1988
    • Douglas Costa
      Brazilian association football player, born 1990
    • Lucio Costa
      Brazilian architect (1902–1998)
    • Gal Costa
      Brazilian singer (1945–2022)
    • Mary Costa
      American opera singer and actress, born 1930
    • Alberto Costa
      Argentine and French footballer, born 1985
    • Válber Costa
      Brazilian association football player, born 1971
    • Hélder Costa
      Angolan association football player, born 1994
    • Nikka Costa
      American singer, actress and swimmer, born 1972
    • Flávio Costa
      Brazilian footballer and manager (1906–1999)
    • Eduardo Costa
      Brazilian footballer, born 1982
    • Nanda Costa
      Brazilian actress, born 1986

    Notable Costas come mostly from Brazil (45), the United States (6) and Angola (3).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Variant spellings

    Surnames that sound like Costa

    Costa has the Soundex code C230, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C230.

    Other Latin surnames

    All 91 Latin surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Costa come from?
    From pan-Romance (Portuguese Costa, Galician Costa, Spanish Costa, Catalan Costa, Occitan Costa, French Costa, Italian Costa), from Latin costa (“rib; side”).
    How common is the surname Costa?
    38,265 people in the United States had the surname Costa in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,069 Americans. It ranked 904th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Costa?
    In the 2010 Census, 83% of people named Costa identified as white (not Hispanic), and 10% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
    Who is the most famous person named Costa?
    Diego Costa, Brazilian association football player, followed by Douglas Costa.
    Where is the surname Costa most common?
    Wikidata records people named Costa in Brazil, the United States and Angola and 3 other countries.
    Is the surname Costa getting more or less common?
    More common. 35,227 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,265 in 2010, up 8.6%.
    What are other spellings of Costa?
    Costas, Dacosta and Dallacosta.