A Portuguese and Spanish surname, the Acosta family name comes from the term ‘encostas’ which means mountains. So Acosta refers to someone who lives near or comes from a mountainous area. The French form of ‘Coste’ referred to the bank of a river. In Portuguese the name Acosta is spelled ‘da Costa’.
Spelling variations for Acosta include Dacosta, Costas and Costa.

In England just the county of Staffordshire has any number of families with the Acosta surname.
Numerous Latin American countries have the Acosta surname, including Argentina, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and Puerto Rico. In Spain and Portugal the Acosta family name is common.

In Texas, California, Florida, Louisiana and Arizona within the United States are where most families with the Acosta surname live.

Famous: Joaquin Acosta (19th century explorer and writer in Colombia), Santiago Acosta (boxer from Argentina), Alberto Acosta (footballer from Argentina), Oscar Acosta (writer from Honduras), Rodolfo (actor from Mexico), Mercedes de Acosta (poet and playwright from Spain), Manny Acosta (baseball player from Panama), Manuel Gregorio Acosta (artist) and Carlos Acosta (ballet dancer from Cuba).