1. Introduction
2. Some miscellaneous reflections
3. Organization of Maltese family names
4. Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony
5. First censuses and classification of names
6. The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names
7. The pantheon of Maltese family names
8. Frequency by location
9. An overview of Gozo
10. The parallel 'Australian' sample
11. Cognates and doublets
12. Multiple names
13. Disappeared names

Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony

by Mario CASSAR

Admitting that Maltese Christians in Norman and Swabian times were mainly of Sicilian stock, at least through the male line, the question of their exact origin deserves further investigation. In the absence of a reference work on the origin and distribution of surnames in late medieval Sicily, the approach is to consider modern concentrations of names. Geoffrey Hull conducted his research based on the 1980 Sicilian telephone directories. Maltese surnames are rare outside the southern and southeastern region of Sicily comprising Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Pachino, Gela (formerly Terranova), Licata, Caltanissetta and Agrigente (formerly Girgenti). Oddly, the largest group of 15th-century Maltese surnames was found in the most distant locality, namely Agrigente.

The following names are more frequent in Agrigente (and sometimes in the nearby areas of Favara and Aragona) than elsewhere: Vella, Farruggia (cf. Farrugia), Schembri, Burgio (cf. Borg), Cassaro (cf. Cassar), Mangione (cf. Mangion ), Pace, Camilleri, Falzone (cf. Falzon), Buggea (cf. Bugeja), Frenda (cf. Frendo), Gallea (cf. Galea), Zambuto (cf. Sammut), Tabone, Bono (cf. Debono), Cumbo, Moscato (cf. Muscat), Vassallo, Gutaia (cf. Cutajar), Cuschera (cf. Cuschieri), Pisano (cf. Pisani), and Caruana. Even if another region gave a higher number for a Maltese name, the name in question was well represented in Agrigente. This was the case with: Zammitti (cf. Zammit), Greco (cf. Grech), Sacco, Atardo (cf. Attard), Conti, Bonanno, Brancato (cf. Brincat), Mallia, and Puglisi (possibly Pulis) in Syracuse; Zupardo (cf. Azzopardi) and Scicolone (cf. Scicluna) in Gela; Bennici (cf. Bonnici) in Licata; and Spataro (cf. Spiteri) in Pachino (30).

The only cases where another region has the complete or near-complete monopoly of Maltese surnames are the following: Formosa and Storace in Syracuse; Cilia in Ragusa; Cammisuli (cf. Camenzuli) in Pachino; De Bartolo (cf. Bartolo), Portelli, Magnuco (Mahnuc) (31), Cauchi, Scerra (cf. Scerri), Psaila, and Ascia (perhaps Asciak) in Gela; Callea (cf. Calleja) and Baldacchino in Licata; and Galia (cf. Galea), Bonanno, and Barbara in Trapani (32).

Contrary to the expectation of finding in southeastern Sicily the onomastics closest to Malta, the Gela-Caltanissetta-Agrigente axis seems to be the source of most of the oldest Maltese surnames, with the latter district as the epicenter. An important 12th-century characteristic that Girgenti had in common with Malta was that they were then (along with the rest of the Val di Mazara) a stronghold of the Arabic language and the Islamic faith in a Sicily that was being Latinized and Christianized. A question now arises: did the Swabian authorities, in settling Christian colonists in the Maltese archipelago in the early 13th century, deliberately recruit Christian Arabic-speaking people from Girgenti whose knowledge of the language of the infidels would have served the emperor's interests? Or was this a group of exiles, a consequence of Frederick II's mass deportation policy?

The city closest to Agrigente, Palermo, often concentrates the largest number of 'Maltese' surnames today. However, it must be presumed that most of the 'Maltese' names belong to families originating from the neighboring province; the validity of this assertion is corroborated by the fact that these names occur very rarely outside the province of Palermo, while they are well distributed throughout the province of Agrigente.

Many typically Maltese surnames exist nowadays in Sicily, although often bearing different spellings. A brief list will suffice: Attardo, Attardi (cf. Attard); Zuppardo, Zuppardi (cf. Azzopardi); Baldacchino ; Balzano, Balsano (cf. Balzan); Barbara; Bartolo (besides Di Bartolo, De Bartolo, Lo Bartolo); Bizzini, Vizzini (if inferring Bezzina); Bonanno; Bonavia; Bennici, Bennico, Bennica, Bennice, Bonica (cf. Bonnici); Burgio (cf. Borg); Brancato, Brancati (cf. Brincat); Buggea, Buggia, Bugea, Buggè, Bugè, Bugia (cf. Bugeja); Calafato; Callea, Callia, Calia (cf. Calleja); Cammisuli, Caminsuli (cf. Camenzuli); Camilleri (besides Cammilleri, Cammalleri, Camalleri, Camilleri, Cammillieri); Caruana; Cassaro (cf. Cassar); Cassia; Cauchi; Procopio (cf. Chircop); Cilia; Consiglio; Conti (and Conte); Cumbo; Cuschera, Coschiera, Cuscheri (cf. Cuschieri); Cuttaia, Cutaia (cf. Cutajar); De Bono (apart from Di Bono, De Bonis, De Boni, Bono); Delia (more than D'Elia); Falzone, Falzoni, Falsone (cf. Falzon); Farruggia, Farruggio (cf. Farrugia); Formosa (besides Formoso, Formusa, Formuso); Frenda, Frenna (cf. Frendo); Galia, Gallea (cf. Galea); Gaudesi (cf. Gauci); Greco (cf. Grech); Grima; Mallia (besides Mellia); Mangione, Mangioni (cf. Mangion); Moscato, Muscato, Moscati (cf. Muscat); Pace (besides Paci); Pisani (apart from Pisani, Pisana); Basile (if related to Psaila); Puglisi, Pulizzi (if related to Pulis); Sacco; Zammuto, Zambuto (cf. Sammut); Xerra, Scerra, Sciarra (cf. Scerri, Xerri); Schembri (besides Schembari, Schemmari, Schembre); Scichilone, Scicolone (cf. Scicluna); Spitaleri, Spitali, Spitale (cf. Spiteri); Tabone (besides Tabbone); Tona (if inferring Tonna); Vassallo; Vella (besides Vedda, Bella, Di Bella, La Bella); Zammito, Zambito, Sammito, Sambito, Zammitti, Zimmitti, Zammitto (cf. Zammit) (33).

Some Maltese names in Sicily, exactly in their current spelling form, may be recent contributions and do not necessarily date back to the Middle Ages or the early modern period. Hull gives the following examples: Attard, Bonnici, Borg, Cassar, Chiricoppi (cf. Chircop), Falzon, Farrugia, Galea, Frendo, Grech, Fenech, Mangion, Micalef (cf. Micallef), Moscatt (cf. Muscat), Psaila, Saito (perhaps Said), Zammit, Sillato, Sciabbarrasi (cf. Sciberras), Xerri, Portelli, Missud (perhaps Mifsud), and Spiteri.

Asciak, Curmi, Seychell, Agius, Ellul, Busuttil, Dingli, Hili, and Xuereb are not recorded in Sicily.

Text published with the kind permission of Mario CASSAR

1. Introduction
2. Some miscellaneous reflections
3. Organization of Maltese family names
4. Hull's theory on the Girgenti colony
5. First censuses and classification of names
6. The 2005 census and the most common Maltese names
7. The pantheon of Maltese family names
8. Frequency by location
9. An overview of Gozo
10. The parallel 'Australian' sample
11. Cognates and doublets
12. Multiple names
13. Disappeared names