2000
#9,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,274
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.21
Rare Last name
Decosta
A Portuguese surname indicating a person who lived near the coast or derived from the Latin word for "coast."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,428 Americans carry the last name Decosta. That puts it at #10,256 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,987 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Decosta 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Decosta with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 99,987
Census rank
#10,256
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,989 bearers of the surname Decosta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10256th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Decosta, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (10.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Decosta
The surname DeCosta has its origins in Portugal, where it first emerged in the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "costa," meaning "coast" or "shore," suggesting that the name may have been given to individuals who lived near the coastline or had some association with maritime activities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DeCosta surname can be found in the Livro de Linhagens, a Portuguese genealogical record dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions individuals with variations of the DeCosta name, such as "da Costa" and "DaCosta," indicating its long-standing presence in Portuguese history.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the DeCosta name began to spread beyond Portugal as Portuguese explorers and settlers ventured to various parts of the world, including the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Some notable individuals bearing this surname during this period include João Rodrigues DeCosta, a Portuguese navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in the late 15th century, and Álvaro de Costa, a 16th-century Portuguese explorer and cartographer who produced maps of the Caribbean and Brazil.
As the Portuguese Empire expanded, the DeCosta name also found its way to other regions, such as Brazil, where it became a prominent surname among the Portuguese-descended population. One notable Brazilian with this surname was João Fernandes DeCosta, a 17th-century explorer and settler who played a significant role in the colonization of the Amazon region.
In the United States, the DeCosta name can be traced back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when Portuguese immigrants began arriving in significant numbers. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname in the US was João DeCosta, a merchant from Madeira who settled in Massachusetts in the early 19th century.
Throughout history, the DeCosta surname has been associated with various notable figures across different fields. These include Miguel DeCosta, a 16th-century Portuguese composer and organist; António DeCosta, a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit missionary and explorer in Japan; and José DeCosta, a 19th-century Brazilian poet and abolitionist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Decosta
Among Census respondents with the surname Decosta, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (10.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Decosta 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 Decosta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.8% · 1,938
- Black or African American11.3% · 339
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 312
- Two or more races8.2% · 245
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.1% · 152
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Decosta
Decosta appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,280
+6 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 701 places
2020
#10,256
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,989
-291 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 395 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,160 | 3,274 | 1.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,861 | 3,280 | 1.11 | +6 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 701 places |
| 2020 | #10,256 | 2,989 | 1.00 | -291 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 395 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 Decosta 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 | #9,861 | #10,256 | -4.0% |
| Count | 3,280 | 2,989 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.00 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Decosta bearers went from 3,280 to 2,989 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 395 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,861 to #10,256.
FAQ
Decosta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Decosta?
Name Census estimates that about 3,428 living Americans carry the surname Decosta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,987 residents.
How common is Decosta?
Decosta ranks #10,256 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,989 people with the surname Decosta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,428), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Decosta.
Has Decosta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Decosta went from 3,280 recorded bearers to 2,989. That is a decrease of 291 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,861 to #10,256.
What does the Census say about the background of Decosta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Decosta, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.3%) and Hispanic (10.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Decosta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.8% (1,938 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Decosta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.8%), Black (11.3%), Hispanic (10.4%). 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 Decosta (2000, 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 Decosta mean?
A Portuguese surname indicating a person who lived near the coast or derived from the Latin word for "coast." 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 Decosta (1.00 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 many people are called Decosta?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Decosta at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.