Costa (surname)

Costa (, , , , ), sometimes Costas, da Costa, Da Costa, or Dalla Costa, is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. The surname spread throughout the world through colonization. It is also a surname chosen by Jews and other religious groups due to Roman Catholic and other Christian conversions.  

In Italy, Portugal, Galicia and Catalonia it is derived from the Latin word costa, "rib", which has come to mean slope, coast, in Romance languages. In the rest of Spain it comes from Catalonia or from Galicia, being the Spanish equivalent Cuesta.

Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 71.0% of all known bearers of the surname Costa were residents of Brazil (frequency 1:141), 7.6% of Portugal (1:67), 5.2% of Mozambique (1:255), 3.7% of Italy (1:801), 2.4% of the United States (1:7,460), 1.9% of Guinea-Bissau (1:44), 1.5% of Spain (1:1,531), 1.2% of East Timor (1:49) and 1.2% of Argentina (1:1,809).

In Brazil, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:141) in the following states:
Maranhão (1:46)
Amapá (1:60)
Pará (1:74)
Roraima (1:77)
Acre (1:93)
Rio Grande do Norte (1:97)
Amazonas (1:98)
Ceará (1:112)
Bahia (1:112)
Tocantins (1:113)
Sergipe (1:117)
Piauí (1:119)
Paraíba (1:120)
Alagoas (1:131)
Federal District (1:131)
Minas Gerais (1:140)

In Italy, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:801) in the following regions:
Liguria (1:214)
Sicily (1:374)
Piedmont (1:458)
Veneto (1:489)
Emilia-Romagna (1:676)
Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (1:763)
Lombardy (1:784)

In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:1,531) in the following autonomous communities:
Balearic Islands (1:399)
Catalonia (1:667)
Galicia (1:672)
Region of Murcia (1:845)
Valencian Community (1:1,001)

People

Afonso Costa, (1871–1937),  Portuguese Prime Minister 1913-17
Albert Costa, Catalan tennis player
Aldo Costa, Italian Engineering Director of the Mercedes Formula One team 
Alberto Costa, multiple people
Alfredo Costa, (1874–1913), Italian operatic baritone
Alfredo Bruto da Costa, (1938–2016), Portuguese politician of Goan Konkani descent
Alfredo Luís da Costa (1883–1908), Portuguese publicist, editor, journalist and assassin
Alfredo Nobre da Costa, (1923 - 1996), Português politician who also had Goan Konkani, Italian, French, and Danish ancestry, Prime Minister of Portugal from 28 August 1978 – 22 November 1978
Andrea Costa, Italian socialist activist
António Costa, Portuguese politician
Antonio da Costa Santos, Brazilian architect and politician
Antony Costa, British singer
Asitha Costa, Sri Lankan cricketer
Beatriz da Costa, interdisciplinary artist
Benjamin Mendes da Costa (1803-68), English-Australian philanthropist
Bob Costas, American sports journalist
Carles Costa, Catalan tennis player
Carlos Duarte Costa, Brazilian religious figure
Celso Costa, Brazilian mathematician, discovered Costa's minimal surface, an embedded minimal surface in 1982
Costa (footballer) (born 1973), Portuguese footballer, full name João Carlos Rodrigues da Costa
Dave Costa (1941–2013), American football player
Dave Costa (offensive lineman) (born 1978), American football player
Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro, Brazilian politician
Desiderio Costa, Angolan politician
Diego Costa, Spanish-Brazilian footballer
Don Costa, American pop music arranger and record producer
Douglas Costa, Brazilian footballer playing for Juventus, winger
Emanuel Mendez da Costa, English botanist, naturalist, philosopher, and collector
Erminio Costa, Italian-born neuroscientist
Fabio Costa,  Brazilian goalkeeper
Francesco Costa, Italian painter
Frank Costa,  Australian businessman and Geelong Football Club President
Gal Costa, Brazilian singer
George Da Costa (1853–1929), a Nigerian photographer
 Giacamo Costa (1919–2000), Italian-born Australian professional wrestler better known as Al Costello
Giovanni Costa, Italian painter
Hélder Costa, Portuguese winger for Wolverhampton Wanderers
Isaac da Costa, Dutch Jewish writer
Jason Costa, mixed martial artist from mississauga Ontario
Jaume Costa, Valencian footballer
Jay Costa, American politician
Jean-Paul Costa, French judge
Jim Costa, Portuguese-American politician
João da Costa, Portuguese Jesuit
Joan Costa-i-Font, Catalan economist
Joaquim Costa Puig, Catalan basketball player
Joe Costa, Australian footballer
Johnny Costa, American jazz pianist
John P. Costas, American Engineer
John P. Costas, American Businessman
Jon Costas, American Politician 
Jorge Costa, Portuguese football player
Joseph Costa, Luso-American aviation pioneer
Larissa Costa, Brazilian model
Ligia Maura Costa, Brazilian professor
Lorenzo Costa, Italian painter
Lúcio Costa, Brazilian architect and urban planner
Luís Antônio Corréa da Costa (born 1966), Brazilian footballer better known as Müller
Manuel da Costa, Portuguese footballer
Manuel da Costa, Portuguese jesuit missionary
Manuel Pinto da Costa, former president of São Tomé and Príncipe
Marcello Costa (born 1940), Italian-born Australian medical doctor, researcher, and public health advocate. 
Marcos Costa, Brazilian boxer
Maria do Céu Sarmento Pina da Costa, East Timorese politician
Mariana Bridi da Costa, known as "Mari", Brazilian model
Mario Costa (diplomat), a Maltese diplomat and ambassador to Russia
Martinho da Costa Lopes, East Timorese religious and political leader
Mathieu de Costa, first recorded black person in Canada
Matt Costa, American folk singer and songwriter
Sir Michael Costa, English composer and conductor
Michael Costa, Australian politician
Moses da Costa, also called "Anthony da Costa", English banker
Newton da Costa, Brazilian mathematician
Nikka Costa, American singer
Nuccio Costa, Italian television presenter
Orazio Costa, Italian theatre pedagogist and director
Oronzio Gabriele Costa, Italian zoologist
Paolo Costa, Italian Member of the European Parliament
Paulo Henrique Costa, UFC Fighter
Phil Costa, Australian politician
Philippe Da Costa
Rebecca Da Costa, model, actress
Renata Aparecida da Costa, aka Renata Costa, Brazilian footballer
Rex De Costa, Sri Lankan doctor and soldier
Robert Costa (disambiguation), multiple people
Ronaldo da Costa, Brazilian long distance runner
Rui Costa, Portuguese football player
Sam Costa, British popular singer
Stéphane Da Costa, French-Polish professional ice hockey player
Tony Costa (1944-1974), American serial killer
Uriel da Costa, Portuguese Jewish writer
Viviane Costa, Brazilian water polo player
Wimal Kumara de Costa, Sri Lankan actor
William P. Costas, an American businessman and politician.
Yamandu Costa, Brazilian guitarist and composer

Dalla Costa
 Marco Dalla Costa, Italian footballer
 Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal 
 Lamberto Dalla Costa, Italian bobsledder
 Mariarosa Dalla Costa, Italian writer
 Andrea Dalla Costa, Italian visual artist and film maker

See also
Costa (disambiguation)

References

Category:Galician-language surnames
Category:Portuguese-language surnames
Category:Italian-language surnames
Category:Catalan-language surnames
Category:Spanish-language surnames
Category:French-language surnames
Category:Maltese-language surnames
Category:Turkish-language surnames
Category:Jewish surnames
Category:Greek-language surnames
Category:Arabic-language surnames
Category:Surnames of African origin
Category:Surnames of Swiss origin
Category:Surnames of Israeli origin
Category:Lebanese families