Explore the Family Name Costas

The meaning of Costas

1. Greek: from a variant of the personal name Kostas, or a shortened and altered form of any of various derivatives of this name, e.g. Kostopoulos, which is also spelled Costopoulos. Compare Costa. 2. Portuguese and Galician: plural form of Costa. 3. Catalan: Castilianized form of Costes, itself the plural form of Costa. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Carlos, Rafael, Angel, Jose, Manuel, Marina, Ramiro, Agapito, Alfonso, Ana Maria, Andres, Antulio.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Costas in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Costas has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010, dropping by 3.41% in rank from 20,763 to 21,470. However, the actual count of individuals with this surname has increased by 2.87%, growing from 1,183 in 2000 to 1,217 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 people saw a drop of 6.82%, moving from 0.44 to 0.41.

20002010Change
Rank#20,763#21,470-3.41%
Count1,1831,2172.87%
Proportion per 100k0.440.41-6.82%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Costas

Regarding ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that between 2000 and 2010 there have been some notable shifts for the surname Costas. The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander significantly increased by 76.19%, going from 0.42% to 0.74%. However, there was an absolute decrease in individuals identifying as belonging to two or more ethnicities, going from 2.03% to none. The proportion of those identified as White decreased by 8.57%, moving from 69.65% to 63.68%, while the Hispanic representation increased by 24.32%, rising from 27.3% to 33.94%. The surname also saw its first appearance amongst the Black community, starting from zero in 2000 and reaching 1.23% in 2010. There was no change for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
White69.65%63.68%-8.57%
Hispanic27.3%33.94%24.32%
Black0%1.23%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.42%0.74%76.19%
Two or More Races2.03%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%