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Acosta surname meaning

A Spanish and Portuguese habitational surname from costa, “coast,” “shore,” or “slope.”

Confidence
Likely
US frequency
Rank 294 · 104,841 people
Common variants
Costa, Da Costa, Dacosta, Acosta

Confidence: Likely. The main story is well supported; some details of the deeper root are less certain.

The short story

Acosta is a Spanish and Portuguese habitational surname associated with costa, “coast,” “shore,” or “slope.” It could identify someone who lived near a coast or on a hillside, or someone who came from a locality with Costa in its name. Da Costa and Dacosta preserve related Portuguese and Spanish forms, while Costa is a broader cognate rather than proof of one family connection. The landscape word is clear, but different regions produced separate Acosta lines. Place is the best catalog type, with likely confidence because the geographic clue is stronger than any single proposed ancestral locality.

Also seen as: Costa, Da Costa, Dacosta, Acosta

Sources used
  • Ancestry, Dictionary of American Family Names entry 'Acosta' (Iberian habitational origin)
  • Wikipedia 'Acosta (surname)' (Spanish and Portuguese place-name history)
  • Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)