NameCensus.

UK surname

Costelloe

An anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Ó Costello, meaning descendant of the crafty or victorious one.

In the 1881 census there were 45 people recorded with the Costelloe surname, ranking it #27,314 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 381, ranked #12,317, up from #27,314 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Newcastle St Andrew, Rochdale and Logie. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Swansea, Coventry and Cheltenham.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Costelloe is 388 in 2002. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 746.7%.

1881 census count

45

Ranked #27,314

Modern count

381

2016, ranked #12,317

Peak year

2002

388 bearers

Map years

4

1901 to 2016

Key insights

  • Costelloe had 45 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #27,314 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 381 in 2016, ranked #12,317.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 110 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Multicultural Inner Suburbs.

Costelloe surname distribution map

The map shows where the Costelloe surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Costelloe surname density by area, 2016 modern.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Costelloe over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 39 #26,319
1861 historical 41 #28,839
1881 historical 45 #27,314
1891 historical 61 #29,103
1901 historical 110 #21,604
1911 historical 96 #23,193
1997 modern 365 #11,804
1998 modern 374 #11,963
1999 modern 371 #12,101
2000 modern 380 #11,837
2001 modern 370 #11,904
2002 modern 388 #11,689
2003 modern 374 #11,828
2004 modern 359 #12,222
2005 modern 356 #12,219
2006 modern 356 #12,284
2007 modern 355 #12,458
2008 modern 357 #12,509
2009 modern 370 #12,416
2010 modern 381 #12,436
2011 modern 382 #12,272
2012 modern 367 #12,499
2013 modern 378 #12,422
2014 modern 380 #12,449
2015 modern 378 #12,405
2016 modern 381 #12,317

Geography

Back to top

Where Costelloes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Newcastle St Andrew, Rochdale, Logie, Gateshead and Batley. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Swansea, Coventry, Cheltenham and Wandsworth. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Newcastle St Andrew Northumberland
2 Rochdale Lancashire
3 Logie Stirling
4 Gateshead Durham
5 Batley Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Swansea 008 Swansea
2 Coventry 029 Coventry
3 Coventry 023 Coventry
4 Cheltenham 009 Cheltenham
5 Wandsworth 014 Wandsworth

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Costelloe

These lists show first names that appear often with the Costelloe surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Costelloe

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Costelloe, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Multicultural Inner Suburbs

Nationally, the Costelloe surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Multicultural Inner Suburbs, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Costelloe household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These neighbourhoods house many younger and middle-aged adults with children. All ethnic minorities, apart from those identifying as Pakistani or Bangladeshi, appear to be present in above average proportions. Affiliation to Christian religions is uncommon. Long-term disability rates are low, mirrored in limited provision of unpaid care. Privately rented terrace houses and flats are the norm. Managerial, professional and technical occupations are prevalent, and work is rarely part time. Many individuals have degree level qualifications. These areas form the inner suburbs of many of the UK’s towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Costelloe is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Costelloe is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Costelloe falls in decile 8 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

8
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Costelloe is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Costelloe, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Costelloe

The surname COSTELLOE is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic Ó Costlogha, meaning "descendant of Costloga." The name Costloga itself is a compound of the elements "cost" meaning "victory" and "loga" meaning "price." This suggests the name may have originated with a person of renown or distinction in battle.

COSTELLOE is an anglicized form of the original Gaelic surname, with the prefix "Ó" being dropped during its adaptation into English. The name is prominent in counties Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon in the west of Ireland, indicating these areas were likely the earliest homelands of families bearing this surname.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Muircheartach Ó Costlogha in the year 1282. This suggests the name had become established by the late 13th century.

In the 16th century, during the Plantation of Ulster, a land settlement policy by the English crown, a branch of the COSTELLOE family was granted lands in County Fermanagh. This may account for the name's presence in parts of Ulster today.

Notable individuals with the COSTELLOE surname include Michael COSTELLOE (1795-1877), an Irish politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for County Mayo. Another was Sir Benjamine COSTELLOE (1854-1899), a British army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Ulundi in 1879.

In more recent history, James COSTELLOE (1877-1965) was an Irish writer and journalist who founded the literary journal The Irish Statesman. Marcus COSTELLOE (1914-1994) was a British actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century. Jarlath COSTELLOE (born 1943) is a former Irish hurler who played for the Galway senior team in the 1960s and 1970s.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Costelloe families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Costelloe surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 18 Costelloes recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.46x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 18 3.46x
Middlesex 9 2.05x
Cheshire 7 7.23x
Yorkshire 3 0.69x
Durham 2 1.53x
Gloucestershire 1 1.16x
Hertfordshire 1 3.31x
Kent 1 0.67x
Lanarkshire 1 0.70x
Staffordshire 1 0.68x
Surrey 1 0.47x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 8 Costelloes recorded in 1881 and an index of 25.30x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 8 25.30x
Lower Bebington 6 1034.48x
Manchester 5 21.35x
Mile End Old Town London 4 42.83x
Gorton 3 61.35x
Esh 2 210.53x
Heston 2 136.99x
St George Hanover Square 2 25.87x
Abbots Bromley 1 454.55x
All Hallows Barking 1 909.09x
Barony 1 2.78x
Bingley 1 36.10x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 1 12.35x
Chipping Barnet 1 188.68x
Cliviger 1 344.83x
Everton 1 6.03x
Halifax 1 15.67x
Holy Trinity 1 9.56x
Milton In Gravesend 1 44.44x
Sale 1 84.03x
Southwark St George Martyr 1 11.33x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Costelloe surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 9
Agnes 2
Elizabeth 2
Anna 1
Catherine 1
Emma 1
Jane 1
Margaret 1
Teresa 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Costelloe surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 5
Thomas 4
(Mr) 1
Benjamin 1
Daniel 1
Edward 1
Henry 1
James 1
Joseph 1
Michael 1
Patrick 1
Richard 1
Robert 1
Thos. 1
William 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Costelloe households.

FAQ

Costelloe surname: questions and answers

How common was the Costelloe surname in 1881?

In 1881, 45 people were recorded with the Costelloe surname. That placed it at #27,314 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Costelloe surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 381 in 2016. That gives Costelloe a modern rank of #12,317.

What does the Costelloe surname mean?

An anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Ó Costello, meaning descendant of the crafty or victorious one.

What does the Costelloe map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Costelloe bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.