2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Costelo
A topographic surname derived from the Spanish "costelo" meaning hillside or hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Costelo. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Costelo surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Costelo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Costelo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 46.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.3%) and Hispanic (18.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Costelo
The surname Costelo originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "costa," meaning "rib" or "side," and is likely a reference to a geographic location or a physical characteristic of an ancestor. The name was initially spelled "Costa" but later evolved into various forms, including Costelo.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Costelo can be found in the archives of the Monastery of Alcobaça, a Cistercian monastic house located in central Portugal. A document dated 1287 mentions a nobleman named Joao Costelo, who was a benefactor of the monastery.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in records from the city of Coimbra, where a family of wealthy merchants bearing the surname Costelo resided. One notable member was Afonso Costelo, a prominent trader who established business connections with cities across Europe during the late 1300s.
During the Age of Exploration, several individuals with the surname Costelo played significant roles in the Portuguese voyages of discovery. In 1498, Diogo Costelo served as a navigator on Vasco da Gama's historic voyage to India, which established a maritime trade route between Europe and Asia.
Another notable figure was Simao Costelo, a 16th-century explorer and cartographer. He accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on the first circumnavigation of the globe and is credited with creating some of the earliest maps of the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Magellan.
In the 18th century, a branch of the Costelo family migrated to Brazil, where they became involved in the sugarcane industry. One of their descendants, José Costelo (1772-1842), was a prominent landowner and politician who served as a deputy in the Imperial General Assembly during the reign of Pedro I.
Throughout its history, the surname Costelo has been associated with various notable individuals across different fields. For example, Manuel Costelo (1807-1878) was a celebrated Portuguese poet and playwright, while João Costelo (1864-1928) was a renowned architect responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Lisbon.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Costelo
Among Census respondents with the surname Costelo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 46.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.3%) and Hispanic (18.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Costelo bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Costelo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander46.4% · 52
- White31.3% · 35
- Hispanic or Latino18.8% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Costelo
Costelo appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+8 bearers (+7.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,090 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.7%) | Up 8,090 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Costelo surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #156,044 | #147,954 | 5.2% |
| Count | 104 | 112 | 7.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Costelo bearers went from 104 to 112 (+7.7% change). The surname moved up 8,090 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #147,954.
FAQ
Costelo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Costelo?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Costelo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Costelo?
Costelo ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Costelo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Costelo.
Has Costelo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Costelo went from 104 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 8 (+7.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Costelo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Costelo, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 46.4%. The next largest groups are White (31.3%) and Hispanic (18.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Costelo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (52 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Costelo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (46.4%), White (31.3%), Hispanic (18.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Costelo (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Costelo mean?
A topographic surname derived from the Spanish "costelo" meaning hillside or hill. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Costelo (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Costelo?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Costelo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.