--- title: "Early censuses and classification of names" description: "Early censuses and classification of names" url: "https://en.geneanum.com/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/early-census-taking-and-surname-rankings" language: en source: "Digital Genealogy" --- 1. [Introduction](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/introduction.html "Introduction") 2. [Some miscellaneous reflections](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/some-rambling-thoughts.html "Some miscellaneous reflections") 3. [Organization of Maltese family names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/a-stratigraphy-of-maltese-surnames.html "Organization of Maltese family names") 4. [Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/hulls-theory-of-a-girgenti-colony.html "Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony") 5. Early censuses and classification of names 6. [The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/census-2005-and-the-commonest-surnames-in-malta.html "The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names") 7. [The pantheon of Maltese family names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/the-pantheon-of-maltese-surnames.html "The pantheon of Maltese family names") 8. [Frequency by location](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/surname-frequencies-by-location.html "Frequency by location") 9. [An overview of Gozo](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/a-snapshot-of-gozo.html "An overview of Gozo") 10. [The parallel 'Australian' sample](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/the-australian-parallel-sample.html "The parallel 'Australian' sample") 11. [Cognates and doublets](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/cognates-and-doublets.html "Cognates and doublets") 12. [Multiple names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/multiple-surnames.html "Multiple names") 13. [Extinct names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/extinct-surnames.html "Extinct names") # Early censuses and classification of names ## by Mario CASSAR In 1240, a report by Frederick II's agent, Giliberto Abate, estimated the number of families living on the islands of Malta and Gozo at 1,119 ([35](#s35)). This is the first known population count in the Maltese islands. The available documents relating to Maltese demographic history in the Middle Ages show that a "Census of Population and Production" was carried out in 1481 ([36](#s36)). Its purpose was to record local production and wheat stocks, as well as to count the consumers. At the time of its publication, it was curiously described as a census of "mouths" and "wheat". The results of this census are not known, but in 1632, a census estimated the number of people living on the islands at 51,750. Table 1 illustrates a series of population figures and estimates dating from the earliest records up to 1842. Table 1. Population census and estimates up to before 1842 | | | | |------|---------|------------------------| | Year | Number | Remark | | 1240 | 1,119 | Census (families only) | | 1530 | 33,000 | estimated | | 1565 | 10,000 | estimated | | 1582 | 20,000 | estimated | | 1590 | 32,290 | Census | | 1617 | 43,798 | Census | | 1632 | 51,750 | Census | | 1741 | 110,000 | estimated | | 1807 | 93,054 | Census | | 1823 | 112,204 | estimated | | 1826 | 119,736 | estimated | Source: Adapted from the 1957 Census This table should be read with caution. Contemporary research has demonstrated the need to be extremely careful when using information from early population censuses. Documentation on the medieval history of Malta is scarce and often unreliable when it comes to demographic and social data. It would appear that before the 19th century, the only two reliable sources are the militia lists and parish registers. The indigenous population of the late Middle Ages in Malta is known, at least for its characteristic names, thanks to the Militia lists of 1419 and the Angara roll of the 1480s. More than three quarters of all surnames recorded in these lists are manifestly of Sicilian origin, most of them still existing in Sicily today. It can be assumed that the 103 names (to be confirmed) with 5 or more occurrences are the most common in the 15th century, and are among the oldest surnames in Malta, and therefore likely to have been in use on the island in the 13th century. The Militia List of 1419/1420, recorded in "Quaderni Diversi, No. 3" of the Mdina Cathedral Museum, is truly a starting point for the study of the demographic composition of Malta in the late Middle Ages; however, it is also an indispensable source for checking Maltese surnames at this stage of history ([37](#s37)). A quick examination of the Militia List of 1419/1420 shows that, at least according to available data, the most common surnames in Malta were probably: - Vella (47) - Zammit (32) - Farrugia (30) - Schembri (29) - Micallef (27) - Borg (25) - Calleja (25) - Cassar (24) - Azzopardi (23) - Bartolo (23) - Asciak (21) - Mangion (21) - Bonnici (20) - Curmi (20) - Grech (19) - Pace (18) - Camilleri (17) - Falzon (16) - Bugeja (16) - Gauci (16) Note: The figures in parentheses indicate the number of able-bodied men (between 16 and 60 years old) who were required to serve in the militia. Four out of five of the most common surnames today (**Borg**, **Vella**, **Farrugia**, and **Zammit**) were already well represented in the late Middle Ages. The absence of **Camilleri** from the top ten is somewhat puzzling. Since then, the frequency of **Calleja**, **Bartolo**, and **Asciaq** has decreased considerably; today, they are not even among the top twenty. Only the names **Vella**, **Azzopardi**, and **Bartolo** are unquestionably Italian. The rest are either Semitic language (**Zammit**, **Farrugia**, **Micallef**, **Borg**, **Cassar**, **Asciaq**), or of doubtful origin (**Schembri**, **Calleja**). Among the thirty most frequent patronyms, the ratio between names of Arabic and non-Arabic origin is 14:16 (it being accepted that **Galea** and **Calleja** are not Semitic surnames as suggested by Hull and others). Among them, only **Micallef** and **Mifsud** appear as local formations. Since the other 28 surnames (93.33%) have, or have had (like **Asciak**, 1095; **Curmi**, 1095 and **Buhagiar**, 1145) a known counterpart in Sicily, it could be that most common Maltese Semitic names are not actually from Sicily, or at least common to both regions. The names *Galata* and *Xara* are now extinct in Malta ([38](#s38)). What emerges from this examination is the equally Sicilian character of many (in fact the majority) of these Maltese Semitic names that were once considered indigenous. Indeed, although Sicily and Malta formed a single socio-cultural bloc during the Saracen period, there is simply no certainty that the first bearers of names like **Borg**, **Zammit**, and **Farrugia** were originally from pre-Norman Malta; on the contrary, it is quite likely that they immigrated to the islands like the first **Vella**, **Pace**, and **Grech** ([39](#s39)). Another consideration in favour of the Sicilian origin of many Maltese-Arabic surnames is the fact that the larger island (Sicily?) not only shares with Malta most of these names, but also retains to this day a large number of Arabic anthroponyms apparently never established in Malta, for example, *Buscemi*, *Cangemi*, *Macaluso*, *Taibi*, and *Gueli*. Most Maltese Semitic names may therefore originate from a larger Arab-Sicilian pool ([40](#s40)). After the Militia List of the 1480s, which adds only a dozen new names from Sicily, the next most complete existing source of Maltese surnames is the *Status Animarum* or the diocesan census of 1687, now preserved in the Curia Archives in Floriana. The census includes the names, first names, and provenance of 45,288 people and covers all localities except for Naxxar, Gozo, and Valletta of the Greek parish rite ([41](#s41)). The *Status Animarum* includes all inhabitants dependent on the bishop, excluding members of religious orders and those under the jurisdiction of the Order of St John and the Inquisition, which must represent 5,500 people. The period 1490-1687 saw the establishment and consolidation of the magisterial regime, and it can be assumed that the dozens of new names, most of which are typical of Vittoriosa (formerly Birgu), Senglea, Cospicua, and Valletta, did not enter Malta before 1530. At least three quarters of these new surnames are Italian, and in most cases from eastern Sicily, suggesting the arrival of settlers from Syracuse, Catania, Messina, and their hinterland. The *Status Animarum* of 1687 showed this ranking order ([42](#s42)): 1. Borg – 1,629 2. Farrugia – 1,139 3. Camilleri – 1,083 4. Grech – 1,042 5. Vella – 1,034 6. Zammit – 1,017 7. Agius – 858 8. Caruana – 778 9. Mifsud – 756 10. Azzopardi – 724 11. Muscat – 679 12. Bonnici – 666 13. Micallef – 653 14. Galea – 642 15. Schembri – 593 16. Pace – 592 17. Fenech – 581 18. Cassar – 551 19. Sammut – 551 20. Debono – 505 21. Attard – 505 Today's frequency shows that it had already taken shape. **Borg** was already the most frequent; **Camilleri** had progressed; **Galea**, **Grech**, and **Attard**, which are of non-Arabic origin. In fact, among the 20 most frequent names in today's ranking, 18 were already present. Only **Spiteri** and **Abela** are absent from the 1687 record. The presence of Italian or Sicilian surnames is more pronounced with the addition of **Bonnici**, **Pace**, and **Debono**. When the troops of the First French Republic invaded Malta in 1798, the Maltese population was over 100,000. The depredations during the French siege of Valletta brought it down to 93,054 (1807 census). This census showed that 31% of the population was concentrated in the surroundings of Valletta and Floriana, according to parish registers. According to a detailed report on the plague of 1813 made by Dr WH Burrell, principal army physician in Malta, the total population was estimated at 111,000. On 21 March 1842, the first modern census took place in a series of decennial censuses of which the last 2005 census was the 16th. This series was interrupted during the Second World War, as well as in 1977, when, according to the ten-year interval criterion, a census should have been conducted, but was not. Table 2: Censuses 1842–1995 [TABLE] Notes: 1. Cf. A. Luttrell, 'Giliberto Abbate's Report on Malta: circa 1241', in *Proceedings of History Week*, Malta, 1993, pp. 1-29. 2. Cf. S. Fiorini, '*Li Buky di Lu Rabatu*: The Population of Rabat c. 1480', in T. Cortis, T. Freller, and L. Bugeja (eds), *Melitensium Amor*, Malta, 2002, pp. 73–96. 3. The full name of the document reads: 'Quaternu factu et ordinatu per li nobili capitaneo et Jurati et *or* di lu) consiglu per la guardia de la hisula de Mauta anni XIII Indicionus'. 4. source 5. Hull, p. 319. 6. Hull, p. 320. 7. A Gozo census list nearest in time to 1687 is the one labelled '*Matrice* 1678' (also housed in the Curia Archives) which includes 3,045 people. For Naxxar, *Status Animarum* 1688 is still preserved at Naxxar Parish Archives. 8. The *Status Animarum* of 1687 does not cover the whole of Malta; besides, the available numbers are subject to a slight margin of error. Text published with the kind permission of Mario CASSAR 1. [Introduction](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/introduction.html "Introduction") 2. [Some miscellaneous reflections](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/some-rambling-thoughts.html "Some miscellaneous reflections") 3. [Organization of Maltese family names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/a-stratigraphy-of-maltese-surnames.html "Organization of Maltese family names") 4. [Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/hulls-theory-of-a-girgenti-colony.html "Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony") 5. Early censuses and classification of names 6. [The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/census-2005-and-the-commonest-surnames-in-malta.html "The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names") 7. [The pantheon of Maltese family names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/the-pantheon-of-maltese-surnames.html "The pantheon of Maltese family names") 8. [Frequency by location](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/surname-frequencies-by-location.html "Frequency by location") 9. [An overview of Gozo](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/a-snapshot-of-gozo.html "An overview of Gozo") 10. [The parallel 'Australian' sample](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/the-australian-parallel-sample.html "The parallel 'Australian' sample") 11. [Cognates and doublets](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/cognates-and-doublets.html "Cognates and doublets") 12. [Multiple names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/multiple-surnames.html "Multiple names") 13. [Extinct names](/malta/documents/genealogy/aspects-of-maltese-surnames/extinct-surnames.html "Extinct names")