Costa (, ,, sometimes Costas, da Costa, Da Costa, or Dalla Costa, is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, mostly toponymic surname. The surname spread throughout the world through colonization. It was also a surname chosen by former

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

due to

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

(often forced) conversions. In Italy, Portugal, Galicia and Catalonia it is derived from the Latin word ''costa'', "rib", which has come to mean ''slope, coast'' (close to the sea, or coastline locations) in

Romance languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

. In Spain, it originates from Catalonia or Galicia, with the Spanish (Castilian) equivalent being ''Cuesta''. Texto - Noia - Galiza

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 71.0% of all known bearers of the surname ''Costa'' were residents of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(frequency 1:141), 7.6% of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

(1:67), 5.2% of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

(1:255), 3.7% of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(1:801), 2.4% of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(1:7,460), 1.9% of

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

(1:44), 1.5% of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(1:1,531), 1.2% of

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

(1:49) and 1.2% of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

(1:1,809). In

, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:141) in the following states: #

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

(1:46) #

Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...

(1:60) #

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

(1:74) #

Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...

(1:77) #

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(1:93) # Rio Grande do Norte (1:97) # Amazonas (1:98) #

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

(1:112) #

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

(1:112) # Tocantins (1:113) # Sergipe (1:117) # Piauí (1:119) #

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

(1:120) #

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

(1:131) #

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

(1:131) #

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

(1:140) In

, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:801) in the following regions: # Liguria (1:214) #

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

(1:374) #

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

(1:458) #

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

(1:489) #

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

(1:676) #

Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol ( ; ; ), often known in English as Trentino-South Tyrol or by its shorter Italian name Trentino-Alto Adige, is an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy, located in the ...

(1:763) #

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

(1:784) In

, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:1,531) in the following autonomous communities:Costa surname distribution
/ref> #

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

(1:399) #

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

(1:667) # Galicia (1:672) #

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

(1:845) #

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

(1:1,001)

People

Angola

* Desidério Costa (born 1934), politician * Hélder Costa (born 1994), footballer

Australia

* Frank Costa (1938–2021), businessman * Joseph Costa (born 1992), footballer * Marcello Costa (1940–2024), Italian-born medical researcher and public health advocate * Michael Costa (born 1956), politician * Phil Costa (born 1949), politician

Brazil

* Antônio da Costa Santos (1952–2001), architect and politician * Carlos Duarte Costa (1888–1961), religious figure * Celso Costa (born 1949), mathematician * Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro (1868–1920), president of Brazil from 1918 to 1919 * Douglas Costa (born 1990), footballer * Fábio Costa (born 1977), footballer * Gal Costa (1945–2022), singer * Jair da Costa (1940–2025), footballer * Larissa Costa (born 1984), model * Ligia Maura Costa, professor * Lúcio Costa (1902–1998), architect and urban planner * Marcos Costa (born 1979), boxer * Mariana Bridi da Costa (1988–2009), also known as Mari, model * Newton da Costa (1929–2024), mathematician * Renata Costa (born 1986), footballer * Paulo Costa (born 1991), mixed martial artist * Petra Costa (born 1984), actress and filmmaker * Rebecca da Costa (born 1984), actress and model * Ronaldo da Costa (born 1970), long-distance runner * Viviane Costa (born 1980), water polo player * Yamandu Costa (born 1980), guitarist and composer

East Timor

* Maria do Céu Sarmento Pina da Costa (born 1968), politician * Martinho da Costa Lopes (1918–1991), religious and political leader

France

* Jean-Paul Costa (1941–2023), jurist * Mélissa Da Costa (born 1990), French novelist * Philippe Da Costa (born 1962), executive * Stéphane Da Costa (born 1989), ice hockey player

Italy

* Aldo Costa (born 1961), Formula One engineer * Alfredo Costa (1874–1913), opera singer * Andrea Costa (1851–1910), politician * Andrea Dalla Costa (born 1974), visual artist and filmmaker *

Elia Dalla Costa Elia Dalla Costa (14 May 1872 – 22 December 1961) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic prelate and Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who served as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, Archbishop of ...

(1872–1961), cardinal * Erminio Costa (1924–2009), neuroscientist * Francesco Costa (1672–1740), painter * Giovanni Costa (1826–1903), painter * Lamberto Dalla Costa (1920–1982), bobsledder * Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535), painter * Marco Dalla Costa (born 1988), footballer * Mariarosa Dalla Costa (born 1943), writer * Nuccio Costa (1925–1991), television presenter * Orazio Costa (1911–1999), theatre pedagogist and director * Oronzio Gabriele Costa (1787–1867), zoologist * Paolo Costa (born 1943), politician * Silvia Costa (born 1949), politician

Portugal

* Adelino Amaro da Costa (1943–1980), politician * Afonso Costa (1871–1937), prime minister of Portugal between 1913 and 1917 * Alberto Costa (born 1947), politician * Alfredo Bruto da Costa, (1938–2016), politician * Alfredo Luís da Costa (1883–1908), one of perpetrators of the 1908 Lisbon Regicide * Alfredo Nobre da Costa, (1923–1996), prime minister of Portugal in 1978 *

António Costa António Luís Santos da Costa (; born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has served as President of the European Council since 2024. He previously served as the 118th prime minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024 and th ...

(born 1961), current President of the European Council, prime minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024 * António Costa Silva (born 1952), economist * António Félix da Costa (born 1991), racing driver * António Luís Costa (born 1953), serial killer * Beatriz Costa (1907–1996), actress * Cândido Costa (born 1981), footballer * Carlos da Silva Costa (born 1949), economist * Carole Costa (born 1990), footballer * Catarina Costa (born 1996), judoka * Diogo Costa (born 1999), footballer * Francisco da Costa Gomes (1914–2001), president of Portugal from 1974 to 1976 * Francisco Fernandes Costa (1867–1925), politician * Helena Costa (born 1978), football manager * José Fonseca e Costa (1933–2015), film director * Jorge Costa (born 1971), football player and manager * Jorge da Costa (1406–1508), cardinal * Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa (born 1937), businessman, president of FC Porto from 1982 to 2024 * José Costa (born 1953), football player and manager * Manuel da Costa (1541–1604), Jesuit missionary * Manuel Gomes da Costa (1863–1929), president of Portugal in 1926 * Pedro Costa (born 1958), film director * Ricardo Costa (born 1981), footballer * Rui Costa (born 1972), footballer and sports executive * Rui Costa (born 1986), cyclist * Samú Costa (born 2000), footballer *

Susana Costa Susana Cristina Saíde da Costa (born 22 September 1984) is a Portuguese athlete specialising in the triple jump. She finished eighth at the 2014 European Athletics Championships, 2014 European Championships in Zürich. In addition, she won the go ...

(born 1984), triple jumper * Uriel da Costa (1585–1640), Sephardic Jew philosopher

Spain

* Albert Costa (born 1975), Catalan tennis player * Albert Costa (born 1990), Catalan racing driver * Carlos Costa (born 1968), Catalan tennis player * Diego Costa (born 1988), Brazilian-born footballer * Jaume Costa (born 1988), Valencian footballer * Quim Costa (born 1957), Catalan basketball player * Robert Costa (born 1994), Catalan footballer

Sri Lanka

* Asitha Costa (born 1970), cricketer * Rex De Costa (1920–1971), medical doctor and army officer * Wimal Kumara de Costa (1948–2016), actor

United States

* Dave Costa (1941–2013), American football player * Dave Costa (born 1978), American football player (offensive linesman) * Dino Costa, radio personality * Don Costa (1925–1983), pop music arranger and record producer * Jason Costa (born 1972), drummer * Jay Costa (born 1957), politician * Jim Costa (born 1952), politician * Johnny Costa (1922–1996), jazz pianist * Joseph Costa (1909–1998), Portuguese-born aviatior * Mary Costa (born 1930), actress and singer * Matt Costa (born 1982), singer-songwriter * Nikka Costa (born 1972), singer * Robert Costa (born 1985), journalist * Robert A. Costa (born 1958), politician *

Tony Costa Antone Charles "Tony" Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974), sometimes referred to as the Cape Cod Vampire or the Cape Cod Cannibal was an American serial killers, American serial killer who was active in and around the town of Truro, Mas ...

(1944–1974), American serial killer

United Kingdom

* Alberto Costa (born 1971), English politician * Antony Costa (born 1981), English singer * Benjamin Mendes da Costa (1803–1968), English merchant and philanthropist * Catherine da Costa (1679–1756), English miniaturist * Emanuel Mendes da Costa (1717–1791), English botanist, naturalist and philosopher * Kitty da Costa (1710–1747), English Sephardic Jew * Margaret Costa (1917–1999), food writer * Michael Costa (1808–1884), Italian-born composer and conductor * Sam Costa (1910–1981), English singer and entertainer

Other countries

* Alberto Zalamea Costa (1929–2011), Colombian journalist and diplomat * Alberto "Tino" Costa (born 1985), Argentinian footballer * Beatriz da Costa (1974–2012), German artist * George Da Costa (1853–1929), Nigerian photographer * Isaac da Costa (1798–1860), Dutch Jewish writer * Jean-Luc Costa (born 1965), Swiss chess player * Leonardo Costa (born 2008), German chess player * Manuel da Costa (born 1984), French-born Moroccan footballer * Manuel Pinto da Costa, president of

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

from 1975 to 1991 * Moses Costa (1950–2020), Bangladeshi Roman Catholic prelate * Silvia Costa (born 1964), Cuban high jumper * Troy Costa (born 1975), Indian fashion designer

Fictional characters

*Manassseh da Costa, The King of Schnorrers

References

{{Authority control Galician-language surnames Portuguese-language surnames Italian-language surnames Spanish-language surnames French-language surnames Greek-language surnames Catalan-language surnames Surnames of South Tyrolean origin