Costello (surname)

Costello
Pronunciation/kəˈstɛloʊ/ or (especially in Ireland) /ˈkɒstəloʊ/
Italian: [koˈstɛllo]
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Irish and Latin
Word/nameMac Oisdealbhaigh and Castellum
Meaning"son of Oisdealbhach (Os-shaped, shaped like the god Os or shaped like god cf. os)" and "small Roman detached fort or fortlet used as a watch tower or signal station"
Other names
Cognate(s)Mac Oisdealbh, Mac Goisdelbh, Mac Coisdealbhaigh
See alsoMac Coisteala and Castrum

Costello is an Irish surname.

History

The Irish surnames Costello, Costelloe, and Costellow are anglicized forms of the Gaelic surname Mac Oisdealbhaigh, itself a Gaelicized form of an Anglo-Norman name. This was the first example of a Norman family assuming a Gaelic name.[1]

This surname has been mainly borne by a notable Irish family who claimed descent from Jocelyn de Angulo, an Anglo-Norman mercenary who accompanied Richard de Clare to Ireland in 1170 during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.

The name first appears on record in Ireland in 1193, when the Annals of the Four Masters state: Inis Clothrann do orgain la macaibh Oisdealb, & la macaibh Conchobhair Maonmaighe. (Inishcloghbran was plundered by the sons of Oisdealb, and the sons of Conor Moinmoy.)[2] The descendants of Oisdealb then became referred to by the family name Mac Oisdealbhaigh (son of Oisdealb).

Oisdealb or Ostealv is sometimes erroneously explained as a Gaelicization of “Jocelyn”, i.e. Jocelyn d'Angulo. But “Ostealv” is more obviously a Gaelic rendering of “Hostilo”, the name of Jocelyn's brother (also known as Hostilio). It is Hostilo's descendants who would bear the surname Mac Oisdealbhaigh (son of Oisdealb).[3]

Costello has also occasionally has been adopted as a pseudonym or stage name by famous people of Italian descent, including Al Costello (né Giacomo Costa), Frank Costello (né Francesco Castiglia), and Lou Costello (né Louis Francis Cristillo). It is also an Italian verb form of costellare: to adorn with stars.

According to the Ellis Island official passenger search, some people came from Italy and Spain to the U. S. as Costello.

People

Fictional characters with the surname

See also

References
  1. Edward MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland, under “Costello”.
  2. "Annals of the Four Masters". ucc.ie. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  3. Gilbert d'Angulo is also sometimes listed as the son of Jocelyn d'Angulo in error. Gilbert d'Angulo is the father of both Jocelyn and Hostilo.
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