# Has there ever been an Abbot Costello? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801 "2010-08-01T16:20:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/1 "2010-08-01T16:20:32Z")
Abbots are Catholic, right? And the Catholic Church is centered in Rome. Costello is an Italian surname. Has there ever been an Abbot Costello? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/2 "2010-08-01T16:24:26Z")
Costello is an Irish name: > **[Costello](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costello)** > > Costello may refer to: > @media all and (max-width:720px){body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .tocright{display:none}.mw-parser-output .tocright{width:100%!important}}@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tocright{float:right;clear:right;width:auto;margin:0 0 0.5em 1em}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-left{clear:left}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-both{clear:both}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-none{clear:none}} ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/3 "2010-08-01T16:26:10Z")
Huh. I did not know that. Lots of Catholics in Ireland, though. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/4 "2010-08-01T16:28:28Z")
Costello actually is an Irish name that looks Italian (when it’s not spelled Costelloe, Castellaw, etc.) - but nevertheless a lot of Italians have it. Mostly their ancestors had hard-to-spell-or-pronounce names like Castiglione, which didn’t register with heavily Irish-American civil servants at places like Ellis Island. I suppose it makes up for all those Irish folks named Esposito, a name which is Italian and/or Spanish in origin. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/5 "2010-08-01T16:32:59Z")
[Costello](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costello) is actually much more common as an Irish surname than as an Italian one. Lou Costello’s real name was Louis Francis Cristillo. Given this, it is likely that at one time or another there has been an Abbot Costello. However, this is almost impossible to search for because most links are to the comedy team. I did, however, find one person actually named Abbot Costello, whose parents evidently hated him. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/6 "2010-08-01T17:10:03Z")
Well why not go all the way with this: Abbot N. Costello. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/7 "2010-08-01T17:16:15Z")
I checked the SS death index. No Abbot or Abbott Costellos there. “Abbot” and “Abbott” are just not very common first names. At least not for the deceased. There’s 70 dead Abbots and 490 Abbotts out of the 87 million records. And just over 12,000 Costellos. edit: There are four Abbie Costellos, that have passed on, though. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/8 "2010-08-01T17:19:58Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Abbots are Catholic, right? And the Catholic Church is centered in Rome. Costello is an Italian surname. > > Has there ever been an Abbot Costello? > [@pulykamell](#): > > I checked the SS death index. No Abbot or Abbott Costellos there. “Abbot” and “Abbott” are just not very common first names. At least not for the deceased. There’s 70 dead Abbots and 490 Abbotts out of the 87 million records. And just over 12,000 Costellos. I think **Johnny** was referring to “abbots” as in a man of the cloth. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/9 "2010-08-01T17:20:27Z")
I was wondering about an abbot, as in a church official. That is, a title rather than a given name. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/10 "2010-08-01T17:21:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I checked the SS death index. No Abbot or Abbott Costellos there. “Abbot” and “Abbott” are just not very common first names. At least not for the deceased. There’s 70 dead Abbots and 490 Abbotts out of the 87 million records. And just over 12,000 Costellos. > > edit: There are four Abbie Costellos, that have passed on, though. I’m guessing the OP means ‘abbot’ as in the chief of a monastry ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/11 "2010-08-01T17:24:27Z")
found twenty-eight on [switchboard.com](http://switchboard.com) [http://www.whitepages.com/5175/search/FindPerson?extra\_listing=mixed&form\_mode=opt\_a&post\_back=0&firstname\_begins\_with=1&firstname=Abbott&name=Costello&where=&localtime=survey](http://www.whitepages.com/5175/search/FindPerson?extra_listing=mixed&form_mode=opt_a&post_back=0&firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=Abbott&name=Costello&where=&localtime=survey) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/12 "2010-08-01T17:24:50Z")
OK, people I get it!!! 😉 Sorry, no information about any clergyman with the surname Costello and the title “Abbot.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/13 "2010-08-01T17:25:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, people I get it!!! 😉 I know how you feel, since I was wrong about the nationality of ‘Costello’. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/14 "2010-08-01T17:27:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, people I get it!!! 😉 > > Sorry, no information about any clergyman with the surname Costello and the title “Abbot.” I didn’t see the other two posts above mine, honest.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/15 "2010-08-01T23:12:32Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Costello is an Irish name: > > [Costello - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costello) Huh?😕 Your cite also says it is an Italian surname. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/16 "2010-08-01T23:29:00Z")
I did manage to find a [fictional play](http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/p985/Monky-Business/product_info.html) featuring an abbot named Costello. Excluding that play from the search, I also find several other fictional references. Haven’t found any real ones yet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/17 "2010-08-02T01:21:13Z")
Sounds like you’re really digging, **Chronos**. I was just idly curious, though, and though someone might know of one that might show up beyond my google attempts. Nice find on the play. But don’t put yourself out on my account! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/18 "2010-08-02T01:41:52Z")
Actually, pkbites, what the Wikipedia entry says is that it is a common Irish surname and a rare Italian surname. In the OP, Johnny L.A. said that it was an Italian surname. I only meant that people with the surname “Costello” (who haven’t had an ancestor who changed their name to that) are overwhelmingly of Irish descent. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/19 "2010-08-02T02:32:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Sounds like you’re really digging, Chronos. Not really; I just added “abbey” to the search terms, since I figured anything about a religious abbot would say what he was abbot of. You could probably get similar results with “monastery” or “monk”. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801/20 "2010-08-02T03:31:41Z")
In [this article](http://www.spectator.co.uk/australia/2211356/costello-is-the-new-nixon.thtml)a politician named Peter Costello, (of whom I have never otherwise heard) briefly considers going to live in a monastery. If he works hard at it, he might become an Abbot some day. And [here](http://www.jcostellogallery.com/artists/daniel-e-smith)’s another Costello who actually did spend some time in a monastery. Wonder if any of his family ever followed the same vocation, and became Abbot. And from [this article](http://napavalleyregister.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/article_5c800acd-cfcc-564d-b3c1-f920befd72b3.html) > [@](#): > > The Kyengeza mission in Uganda was founded by a former prior at the Carmelite Monastery, Father David Costello, who is still in Kyengeza. ( a [prior](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prior)is “next in rank below an abbot”, according to [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com)) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-an-abbot-costello/548801.md?page=2)