Find out how popular the last name Cota is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cota.

Cota, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cota surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cota in America

Cota is the 3120th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cota surname appeared 11,554 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Cota.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cota to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cota

The surname Cota has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Portugal and Spain, where it first appeared around the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Latin word "cotta," which referred to a type of tunic or outer garment worn in ancient times.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Cota surname can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical record dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions several individuals bearing the Cota name, suggesting its relatively widespread use during that period.

In the 14th century, the Cota surname appeared in the Catalan region of Spain, where it was associated with the noble family of the same name. Notable members of this family include Ramon Cota, a distinguished knight who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors during the reign of King Jaume I of Aragon (1208-1276).

The Cota name has also been linked to various place names in Portugal and Spain, such as Cota (a parish in the municipality of Alenquer, Portugal) and Cota (a municipality in the province of Cuenca, Spain). It is possible that the surname originated from these locations or that individuals from these areas adopted the name as a means of identification.

In the 16th century, the explorer and navigator Juan de la Cosa (c. 1450-1510) is believed to have had the surname Cota, although this is not entirely certain. De la Cosa was a prominent figure in the early Spanish exploration of the Americas and is credited with creating one of the earliest known maps of the New World.

Another notable individual with the Cota surname was Pedro Cota Ruiz (1570-1647), a Spanish playwright and poet from Córdoba. He was a contemporary of the renowned dramatist Lope de Vega and is remembered for his contributions to the Spanish Golden Age of literature.

During the colonial period, the Cota surname spread to various parts of the Spanish Empire, including the Americas. One example is Juan Bautista de Anza Cota (1735-1788), a Spanish military officer who led several expeditions to establish settlements in present-day California and Arizona.

In more recent times, the Cota surname has been associated with several influential figures, such as Gert Cota (1888-1966), a Dutch architect known for his innovative designs and contributions to the Amsterdam School of architecture, and Julio Cota (1920-1995), a renowned Mexican painter and muralist whose works celebrated the indigenous cultures of Mexico.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cota

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cota.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cota was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cota has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cota was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cota, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!