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The last name Acosta is one of the most popular in Latin America and Spain. It is of Spanish and Portuguese origin and means “from the slope”. Some of its most common variants are: Costas, Lacoste, Da Costa.
Meaning
Acosta is a toponymic surname, that is, it refers to a place, particularly the place of origin of the ancestors of the person who bears it.
The surname Acosta derives from the Portuguese expression and also surname da costa , which means “of the slope”. It was used to call a person who lived in a mountainous area. Likewise, it is possible that it derives from another Portuguese word: encosta , which means “hillside” or “slope”. Later, it is likely that the surname Acosta also referred to someone who lived near the coast, due to the similarity with this word.
Another version suggests that Acosta comes from the Portuguese translation of a Basque surname: Aldaz. This surname means “slope” or “side of the hill”.
Origin of the surname Acosta
While the Acosta surname is considered to be of Spanish and Portuguese origin, there are doubts regarding its exact roots.
Some sources suggest that he comes from a Roman family that settled in the Iberian Peninsula. Other sources claim that he comes from a Gothic king known as Acoista.
Another possible explanation is that the Acosta arose in Burgos, a city in Spain, where there was a family whose descendants later spread through Galicia and later arrived in Portugal.
After the conquest of America, Acosta spread to different Latin American countries, where today it is one of the most popular surnames. Especially, the last name Acosta is very common in Mexico, Paraguay and Argentina.
Fun facts
Some of the most interesting facts about the last name Acosta are:
- It is the 60th most common Spanish surname.
- In the world, it ranks 430th of the most popular surnames.
- In Spain, the surname Acosta is quite common in the Galicia region and in the Canary Islands.
- In Paraguay, it is the 14th most common surname; the 20th in Argentina and the 27th in Cuba.
- It is among the 50 most popular surnames in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and among the first 100 most frequent surnames in Colombia, Panama and Mexico.
- In the United States, most people with the last name Acosta live in Florida, California, Arizona, and New York.
- It can appear with other variations, such as: Costa, Cuesta, Costas, Da Costa, D’Acosta, Costes, Coste, Costi, Cote, Lacoste, Delacoste and Delcote.
Celebrities with the last name Acosta
Among the famous people with the last name Acosta, the following stand out:
- José de Acosta: Jesuit of the 16th century.
- Joaquín Acosta: Colombian explorer and historian of the 19th century.
- Cecilio Acosta: Venezuelan writer and journalist.
- Mercedes de Acosta: 19th-century American poet, playwright, and novelist.
- Carlos Acosta: Cuban ballet dancer and choreographer.
- Manny Acosta: Panamanian baseball player.
- Manuel Gregorio Acosta: Mexican painter.
- Joe Acosta: Puerto Rican piano soloist.
- Santos Acosta: former Colombian president (1867–1868).
- Héctor Acosta: Dominican musician.
- Lautaro Acosta: Argentine soccer player.
- Uriel da Costa: Portuguese philosopher of the 16th century.
Genealogy and resources
There are many tools available to people who want to learn more about the Acosta surname and their ancestors, such as databases, forums, social media groups , and email lists. Among the different online genealogy resources are:
- FamilySearch: A database of over a million free historical records and family trees, including data on the last name Acosta and people with the same last name.
- DistantCousin.com: Free databases and other genealogy resources for the Acosta surname.
Bibliography
- Elián, JS Great book of surnames and heraldry. (2006). Spain. Victor.
- Schnieper Campos, J.; Rosado Martin, F. Spanish surnames. Heraldry. (2001). Brand Editorial.
- Faure, R.; Ribes, MA (2001). Dictionary of Spanish surnames. Spain. Espasa Books.
