# Costello (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/costello/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 32,043 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,093 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,635 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.5% (31,266 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /kɑˈstɛloʊ/, 3 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Costilow, Costley, Costlow |

## Etymology

* As an Irish surname, reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Oisdealbhaigh (“son of Oisdealbhach”), a personal name composed of the elements os (“deer”) and dealbhach (“resembling, in the form of”). * As an Italian surname, Americanized from Castello. * As a Serbo-Croatian or Slovene surname, Americanized from Kostelec, Kostevc, from Kostelsko region in Lower Carniola, named after Kostel Castle, from earlier Costel, Slavicized from Latin castrum (“fortress”), hence related to the Italian above.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Costello in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Costello in the United States, Ireland and Australia.

## People named Costello

- Dolores Costello, American actress (1903–1979)
- Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (1906–1959)
- John A. Costello, 3rd Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951, and 1954 to 1957
- Helene Costello, American actress (1906–1957)
- Maurice Costello, American actor and film director (1877–1950)
- Paul Costello, American rower (1894–1986)
- Mae Costello, American actress (1882-1929)
- Mariclare Costello, American actress
- Larry Costello, American basketball player and coach (1931–2001)
- Angelica Costello, American pornographic actress
- Jerry Costello, American politician
- Pat Costello, American rower

and 5 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Castillo, Castelli, Castello, Costilla, Costley, Castelo, Costlow, Castell, Castel, Castellanos, Castellano, Castellon.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.