Costa (surname)

It was also a surname chosen by former Jews due to Roman Catholic and other Christian (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.

In Spain, it originates from Catalonia or Galicia, with the Spanish (Castilian) equivalent being Cuesta.

[1] 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: In Italy, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:801) in the following regions: In Spain, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:1,531) in the following autonomous communities:[2]

Coat of arms of Costa family in Portugal
Mediaeval Galician inscription in a 14th-century house, in Noia : "ESTAS CASAS MANDOU FAZER VASCO DA COSTA , ERA DE MCCCLXXVII" These houses were ordered by Vasco da Costa, era 1377 (1339 AD)