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Malta

Naming Customs

Understanding customs used in surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in records. Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names.

Online Tools

• Behind the Name: Maltese Surnames
• Behind the Name: Maltese Given Names
• Surname experience at FamilySearch - search by surname to learn its meaning and origin

Surnames

• Different cultures have their impact on the demographics of the Maltese islands, and this is evident in the various surnames Maltese citizens bear nowadays.
• There are very few Maltese surnames per se: the few that originate from Maltese places of origin include Chircop (Kirkop), Lia (Lija), Balzan (Balzan), Valletta (Valletta), and Sciberras (Xebb ir-Ras Hill, on which Valletta was built).
• The village of Munxar, Gozo is characterised by the majority of its population having one of two surnames, either Curmi or de Brincat'. In Gozo, the surnames Bajada and Farrugia are also common.

Sicilian and Italian surnames

Sicilian and Italian surnames are common due to the close vicinity to Malta. Sicilians were the first to colonise the Maltese islands. Common examples include Azzopardi, Bonello, Cauchi, Farrugia, Gauci, Rizzo, Schembri, Tabone, Vassallo, Vella.

French surnames

Common examples include Depuis, Montfort, Monsenuier, Tafel.

English surnames

English surnames exist for a number of reasons, but mainly due to migration as well as Malta forming a part of the British Empire in the 19th century and most of the 20th. Common examples include Bone, Harding, Atkins, Mattocks, Smith, Jones, Woods, Turner.

Sicilian Arabic surnames

Arabic surnames occur in part due to the early presence of the Arabs in Malta. Common examples include Sammut, Camilleri, Zammit, and Xuereb.

Spanish surnames

Common surnames of Spanish origin include Abela, Galdes, Herrera, and Guzman.

German surnames

Surnames from foreign countries from the Middle Ages include German, such as von Brockdorff, Hyzler, and Schranz.

Greek surnames

Many of the earliest Maltese surnames are Sicilian Greek, e.g. Cilia, Calleia, Brincat, Cauchi. Much less common are recent surnames from Greece; examples include Dacoutros, and Trakosopoulos

Jewish surnames

The original Jewish community of Malta and Gozo has left no trace of their presence on the islands since they were expelled in January 1493.

Customs

In line with the practice in other Christian, European states, women generally assume their husband's surname after legal marriage, and this is passed on to any children the couple may bear. Some women opt to retain their old name, for professional/personal reasons, or combine their surname with that of their husband.

For Further Reading

• A dictionary of Jewish surnames from Maghreb, Gibraltar, and Malta

References

• "Surnames by country: Malta", in Wikipedia, accessed 11 March 2021.