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The name De la costa and its many variations originate in the numerous places in Portugal named da Costa or Costa having derived from the Portuguese word 'costa,' which means coast or shore. Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the Latin word "costa," meaning "rib".
The surname De la costa was first found in at Quinta da Costa, in the region of Guimaraes, and dates from the reign of King Afonso Henriques in the 12th century.
Don Joao Ribeiro Gaio, Bishop of Malaca, wrote a lyric poem extolling the bravery of the De la costa family. An excerpt from the work states, "With ribs he defended himself, breaking the sword of his enemy, his beloved at his side, even though she also died."
In some cases, the family was Cristãos-novos, or New Christians who converted from Judaism to Catholicism by state edict at 1497. But there are multiple cases where individuals returned to Judaism including Uriel da Costa (c. 1585-1640) the Portuguese philosopher and Catherine Rachel da Costa (1679-1756) whose family fled to London during the Spanish Inquisition.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Da Costa, Costa, Costas, De Costa, De la Costa, Dalla Costa and many more.
Prominent members of the family include Jorge da Costa (1406-1508), a Portuguese Cardinal, was Archbishop of Lisbon (1464-1500) and 108th Archbishop of Braga (1486-1501.)
Catherine Rachel da Costa (1679-1756), née Mendes, was an English miniaturist. She grew up in London and studied painting under Bernard Lens III. Most of her surviving portraits are of family and friends, and there is also a picture of Mary Queen of Scots.
Francesco Costa (1672-1740) was an Italian painter...
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early De la costa Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.