Show ContentsCastillo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Castillo Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Castillo

What does the name Castillo mean?

The Castillo surname came to Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion of the 12th century. They were originally from the Norman family Nangles, or de Angulos, and descended in Ireland from Gilbert de Nangle. Costello and associated variations come from the personal name of a son of Gilbert, Oisdealbhach, whose name consists of the elements "os," which means "deer or fawn", and "dealbhadh," which means "in the form of" or "resembling." The Gaelic form of the surname Castillo, which predated the Anglicized version of the name, is Mac Oisdealbhaigh. This is the earliest recorded example of a Norman family assuming a Mac surname. The prefix O or Ó has sometimes been erroneously assumed. 1

Early Origins of the Castillo family

The surname Castillo was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they were granted lands by the Earl of Pembroke in the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1172.

Early History of the Castillo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Castillo research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1500, 1531, 1567, 1571, 1579, 1606, 1660, 1667, 1803 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Castillo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Castillo Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelled the names as they sounded, so a name was often spelled many different ways during the lifetime of a single person. The investigation of the origin of the name Castillo revealed many spelling variations including Costello, MacCostello, Costillo, Costallo, Kostello, McCostello, Caustello, Costellow and many more.

Early Notables of the Castillo family

Guillauame Costeley (1531-1606), Scottish organist and 'valet du chambre du roy' to Henry II and Charles IX of France. 2 Arthur Dudley Costello (1803-1865), was an English-born Irish novelist and travel writer. William Costeley was a Scottish musician, born 1531, settled in France, and was organist to Henri II and Charles IX. Author of a treatise called 'Musique' (Paris 1579); songs in the 'Chansons à 4 et 5 parties' published by Le Roy and Ballard (Ib. 1567). Some pieces of his are in the library at Orleans...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Castillo Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Castillo World Ranking

the United States, the name Castillo is the 207th most popular surname with an estimated 126,837 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Castillo is ranked the 2,413rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,500 - 3,000 people with that name. 4 And in South America, the name Castillo is the 62nd popular surname with an estimated 70 people with that name. 5

Castillo migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Castillo Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Catherine Castillo, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 6
  • Miss Mary Castillo, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sandford" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 9th July 1856 6

Castillo migration to the United States +



Castillo Settlers in United States in the 16th Century
  • Catalina Castillo, who arrived in Cartagena in 1597
Castillo Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Maria Del Castillo, who settled in New Orleans in 1778
  • Josefa Del Castillo, who settled in New Orleans in 1779
  • Geronimo Castillo, who settled in Louisiana in 1779
Castillo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Antonio Castillo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
  • Manuel Castillo, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
  • Rafael Del Castillo, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 7
  • Bartolome Del Castillo, who arrived in America in 1812 7
  • Gonzalo Del Castillo, who arrived in America in 1814 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Castillo (post 1700) +

  • Isora del Castillo (b. 1932), Cuban former infielder who played from 1949 through 1951 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  • Michel Janicot del Castillo (1933-2024), French writer, prize winner of the Prix Chateaubriand for Le Silence des Pierres (1975) and Renaudot for La nuit du Décret (1981)
  • Antonio Salazar Castillo (1989-2022), Mexican professional footballer who last played as striker for Cimarrones de Sonora in Ascenso MX in 2015
  • Eva Castillo (1969-2022), born Minerva Castillo, a Filipina singer
  • Jaime García Márquez Patricio Castillo San Juan (1940-2021), better known as Patricio Castillo, Chilean born Mexican actor
  • Gonzalo Galván Castillo (1951-2020), Mexican Roman Catholic bishop
  • José Castillo Rondón (1981-2018), Venezuelan professional baseball infielder
  • Abelardo Castillo (1935-2017), Argentine writer, novelist and essayist
  • José Oscar Barahona Castillo (1938-2016), El Salvador Roman Catholic bishop
  • ... (Another 33 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Castillo Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ne te quaesiveris extra
Motto Translation: Seek nothing beyond your sphere.
  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. "List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
  6. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)

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