Meaning and background
The story behind Costello
Costello has an Irish personal-name history and separate migration-related surname routes. The dictionary traces the Irish form to a Gaelic son-of surname involving Oisdealbhach, with elements referring to a deer or fawn and resemblance. It also records Americanized Italian, Croatian, and Slovenian names. That gentle animal image belongs specifically to the Irish account; sharing the modern Costello spelling does not make the different family histories identical.
- Origin
- Irish surname from Mac Oisdealbhaigh, involving a deer/fawn resemblance personal name; separately Americanized Italian and south Slavic surnames. Source
Try Costello out loud
Everyday moments“Costello, come here!”
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About Costello
Recorded as a dog’s name
Costello appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/kɔstɛloʊ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/kɔstɛloʊ/ · primary stress on syllable 2K AO2 S T EH1 L OW0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.