Find out how popular the last name LaCosta is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named LaCosta.
A topographic surname referring to someone living by the coast or shore.
LaCosta, 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 LaCosta surname is from the 2010 census data.
LaCosta is the 80419th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The LaCosta surname appeared 236 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname LaCosta.
We can also compare 2010 data for LaCosta 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.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 80419 | 66073 | 19.59% |
| Count | 236 | 280 | -17.05% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.08 | 0.10 | -22.22% |
The surname LACOSTA originated in Spain, deriving from the Spanish word "costa" meaning "coast" or "shore." It likely referred to someone who lived near the coast or had some association with coastal regions. The name dates back to at least the 13th century in the Iberian Peninsula.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the LACOSTA surname appears in the Catalonian region of Spain in 1283, where a record mentions a certain "Pere de la Costa." The "de la" prefix indicates the surname's origin as a geographical or topographical descriptor.
In the late 15th century, the LACOSTA name appears in records from the town of Altea in the province of Alicante, suggesting the name's early roots in the eastern coastal regions of Spain. Some variants of the name included LaCosta, DeLaCosta, and De La Costa.
A notable early bearer of the LACOSTA surname was Juan de la Costa, a Spanish explorer and navigator born around 1460 in Triana, Seville. He accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493 and later became one of the first settlers in the West Indies.
Another historical figure with the LACOSTA name was Francisco de la Costa, a Spanish soldier and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He was born in Extremadura around 1490.
In the 17th century, the LACOSTA name appears in records from the Canary Islands, where a wealthy landowner named Andrés de Lacosta owned several estates on the island of Tenerife. His descendants continued to use the LACOSTA surname in the Canary Islands for generations.
Across the Atlantic, the LACOSTA surname also took root in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. One notable example is José Antonio de la Costa, a Venezuelan military officer and politician born in Caracas in 1770, who played a role in the Venezuelan War of Independence.
As the LACOSTA surname spread to various regions of Spain and its colonies, it maintained its connection to coastal areas and references to those living near the sea or involved in maritime activities.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname LaCosta.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for LaCosta was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 56.78% | 134 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | 8.47% | 20 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 3.39% | 8 |
| Hispanic Origin | 27.12% | 64 |
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 LaCosta has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
| 2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 56.78% | 56.07% | 1.26% |
| Black | 8.47% | 7.50% | 12.15% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | (S)% | 8.21% | (S)% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | (S)% | 0.00% | (S)% |
| Two or More Races | 3.39% | 3.21% | 5.45% |
| Hispanic | 27.12% | 25.00% | 8.14% |
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 LaCosta was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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