Costello (surname)

Costello is a surname in the English language.

The surname has been borne by a notable Irish family who claimed descent from Jocelyn de Angulo (fl. 1172), an Anglo-Norman knight. The family 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 Osdealv, and the sons of Conor Moinmoy.)^[1]

Oistealb or Osdealv was the Gaelic rendering of Jocelyn.^[2] The sons of Jocelyn were Philip, Gilbert, and William de Angulo. The descendants of William de Angulo (or Mac Costello) settled in Connacht and the name became Gaelicized, dropping the surname de Angulo in favor of Mac Oisdealb, or Mac [C]ostello.^[3] The barony of Costello in east Mayo is named from this family.

Although it is not of Italian origin, the name Costello has a misleading Italian appearance. It 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), and others, which creates further confusion about the origin of this Norman-French surname.

People born with the surname

• Barry M. Costello, United States Navy Vice Admiral
• Billy Costello, American boxer
• Carol Costello, CNN news reporter
• Daniel Rae Costello, Pacific musician
• Dolores Costello, American film actress
• Dubhaltach Caoch Mac Coisdealbhaigh, Irish soldier and rapparee (died 1667)
• Frank Costello (footballer) (1884–1914), English footballer who played for Southampton and West Ham United
• Helene Costello, American film actress, from whom Lou Costello (see below) took his stage name
• Jerry Costello, American politician
• Joe Costello (Irish politician) (born 1945), Irish Labour Party politician
• John Costello (baseball) (born 1960), American baseball pitcher
• John A. Costello (1891–1976), Taoiseach of Ireland
• John M. Costello (1903–1976), U.S. Representative from California
• John Costello (Medal of Honor recipient) (1850–?), U.S. Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient
• John Edmund Costello (investigative author), (1943-1995)
• John Costelloe, Irish politician, member of Seanad Éireann from 1963–1965
• John Costelloe (actor) (died 2008), American actor
• Joseph Costello, American computer scientist
• Kevin Costello, emigrant to U.S. from Guernsey, artist, lecturer, writer, and commentator
• Larry Costello, American professional basketball coach
• Louisa Stuart Costello, British author and poet
• Mary Anne Costello, wife of George Canning and mother of George Canning
• Mary Costello, mother of John Kelly, aunt of Paul Costello, grandmother of Grace Kelly and great-grandmother of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
• Matt Costello, footballer
• Matthew J. Costello, author
• Maurice Costello, American stage and screen actor
• Michael Costello (actor), American actor
• Michael Costello (public servant), ex-chief of staff to Australian politician Kim Beazley
• Michael A. Costello (born 1965), State Representative for the Massachusetts House of Representatives
• Michael Copps Costello (1875–1936), Canadian politician
• Mike Costello, British sports broadcaster
• Michael Joe Costello (1904–1986), Irish Army general
• Patrick Costello, bass player for Dillinger Four
• Paul Costello, American rower and Olympic medalist
• Paul Costelloe, Irish fashion designer
• Peter Costello, Australian politician
• Seamus Costello, Irish politician, and member of the Irish Republican Army
• Sean Costello, American blues musician
• Tim Costello, Australian Baptist minister and author
• Thomas Joseph Costello, American Roman Catholic bishop
• Victor Costello, Irish rugby union player
• Ward Costello, American actor

People adopting the surname as a pseudonym

• Al Costello, the ring name of Italian-Australian professional wrestler Giacomo Costa
• Angelica Costello, American porn star
• Diosa Costello, American performer
• Elvis Costello, British singer and musician (real name Declan Patrick MacManus)
• Frank Costello, American criminal and mobster (born in Italy as Francesco Castiglia; took the Costello name in the 1920s)
• Lou Costello, Italian-American actor and comedian (born Louis Francis Cristillo), part of Abbott and Costello

Fictional characters with the surname

• Charlie Costello, one of the several psychopaths in the film Seven Psychopaths, portrayed by actor Woody Harrelson
• Frank Costello, the antagonist of the film The Departed, portrayed by actor Jack Nicholson
• Jef Costello, the antihero of the film Le Samouraï, portrayed by actor Alain Delon
• Kaitlin Costello, the key witness in the 1982 courtroom drama film The Verdict, portrayed by actress Lindsay Crouse
• Maggie Costello, the protagonist of The Last Testament, book by Sam Bourne
• Martha Costello QC, the lead character in the 2011- BBC series Silk, portrayed by actress Maxine Peake.
• The Costello family in Hollyoaks, a British television show
• The Costello family in Tangerine, book by Edward Bloor

See also

• Costello (disambiguation)
• Costelloe

References

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