1. Introduction
2. Some random thoughts
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

Multiple names

by Mario CASSAR

Double surnames in Malta are quite abundant. The 2005 census showed that 9,507 people (2.35% of the population) bore these names (75). They total 3,882 or 31.5% of all listed names. This very high figure will justify their significant presence throughout this chapter. However, this is not the case with the surnames of Maltese migrants abroad. Out of a total of 4,647 Maltese surnames who applied for an Australian passport between 1887 and 1940, only 9 Maltese names were double (76). Even in Gozo, the number of double names is quite low compared to mainland Malta.

The initial bearers of double surnames simply chose to add the mother's family name to that of their father. Obviously, this does not signify noble ancestry; but as a matter of fact, in most cases, they presuppose a sort of prestige or, at least, a degree of pretension (77). The most frequent associations, in decreasing order of frequency, are: Mifsud Bonnici (93 occurrences), Ellul Sullivan (83), Borg Bonaci (77), Fleri Soler (69), Cassar Torreg(g)iani (69), Attard Montalto (61), Pace Bonello (56), Gauci Borda (55), Zammit Tabona (48), Borg Costanzi (43), Micallef Grimaud (42), and Leone Ganado (38). Other examples are: Frendo Cumbo, Gauci Maistre, Zarb Cousin, Sant Fournier, Borg Costanzi, Schembri Wismayer, Borg Grech, Borg Olivier, Fenech Adami, Cilia La Corte, Attard Portughes, Apap Bologna, Pace Asciak, Borg Barthet and Zammit Marmarà. A compound name with three elements includes Camilleri Ellul Bonici and Testaferrata Moroni Viani; a rare family name with four elements is Gera De Petri Testaferrata Bonici (78). The surname with the greatest number of additions is unsurprisingly Borg (173 combinations), followed by Vella (139) and Zammit (117).

Some Maltese surnames appear more as the first element in double names: Barbaro Sant, Cost Chretien (or Chritien), Izzi Savona, Mazzacano D'Amato, Porsella Flores, Gomez Blanco (as opposed to Gomes), and Parlato Trigona.

Others appear only as the second element in double names thus: Agius Vadalà, Apap Bologna, Bonello Dupuis, Attard Biancardi, Borg Costanzi, Borg Olivier and Bruno Olivier, Sammut Alessi, Cachia Castelletti and Theuma Castelletti, Cassar Desain and Bugeja Desain, Cassar Torreg(g)iani, Galea Cavalazzi, Attard Portughes, Mallia Milanes, Ellul Mercer, Padovani Ginies, Zammit Maempel and Spiteri Maempel, Pellegrini Petit, Pace Bardon and Vella Bardon, Galdes Giappone and Rutter Giappone, Parlato Trigona, Micallef Trigona , Cassar Trigona and Sceberras Trigona. Bonici (as opposed to Bonnici) occurs only either as the first element of Bonici Mompalao or as the second element of Testaferrata Bonici and Ellul Bonici. Parlato Trigona is a special case because neither Parlato nor Trigona appear on their own. Attention must be paid to certain surnames because otherwise their historical presence would be erased from local cognominal studies. However, they are absolutely inconsequential from a purely statistical point of view.

It is visibly clear that all the names mentioned are of Italian and Sicilian origin. On the other hand, some double surnames are neat: Barbaro Sant(o), Izzi Savona, Mazzacano D'Amato. What is interesting, however, is the conjunction of an Italian family name with another that manifests a different geo-cultural character, whether Arabic (as in Mifsud Bonnici, Fenech Adami, Cassar Torregiani, and Borg Costanzi), French (as in Pace Bardon, Bruno Olivier, Pellegrini Petit, and Bonello Depuis), or even English (as in Rutter Giappone, Pace O'Shea and Orlando Smith). This provides further evidence of the ethnic diversity of the Maltese population.

In most cases, the second element obviously represents the mother's maiden name, but in some isolated cases, it may have simply been annexed for hereditary purposes. For example, Baron Inguanez died in 1760 without issue and named his cousin, Gio Francesco D'Amico, as his successor in the fiefs of Buqana and Jar-il Bniet. To strengthen his legitimacy over the two baronies, the latter immediately adopted the surname Inguanez (79).

The inclination for double names already existed in the 17th century in Malta. Fra Aldovrandino Testaferrata Abela, the great-nephew of Vice-Chancellor Giovanni Francesco Abela, was knighted in the Order of Saint John in 1631 (80), while the Cumbo Navarre family founded a majorat or primogeniture in 1634 (81). However, it seems the custom became habitual among the local nobility in the 18th century. Baldassare Fenech Bonici was made Count Palatine by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 (82); the Carbot Haxiach (Asciaq) family erected the benefice of Ta 'Godla in 1749 (83); the Muscat Sceberras family erected the benefice of Ta 'Cassia in 1762 (84); while Count Giuseppe Stagno Navarra also embraced religion in 1790 (85). Other substitutions were made by Paolo and Béatrice Testaferrta Cassia (1713), Bernardo Piscopo Macédoine (1725/26), Giovani Battista Cassar Desain (1781), and Pietro D'Amico Inguanez (1785) (86). Other prominent Maltese families of the 18th century include: Montalto Gatto, Galea Ferriol, Perdicomati Bologne, Mallia Tabone, Thuema-Castelletti, and Sant-Fournier (87). Giuseppe Caruana Dingli married Antonia Farrugia in Valletta (Porto Salvo) in 1791 (88). In most cases, their origin is therefore easily identifiable.

More recent examples abound (89).

• Joseph Caruana Colombo (born in 1898) was the son of Laurence Caruana and Giovanna Pia Colombo
• Carmelo Zammit Marmara (born in 1899) was the son of Joseph Zammit and Giulia Marmara
• Paul Galea Souchet (born in 1899) was the son of Vincent Galea and Antonia Preca Souchet
• George Borg Barthet (born in 1901) was the son of Alfred Borg Barthet and Valentina
• Thomas Joseph Agius Ferrante (born in 1916) was the son of Albert Agius and Marie Ferrante
• Maurice Agius Vadalà (born in 1917) was the son of Professor Thomas Agius and Sophie Vadalà
• Joseph Caruana-Montaldo (born in 1924) was the son of Joseph and Marie Caruana Montaldo
• Joseph M. Cassar Naudi (born in 1925) was the son of Paul Cassar and Aloisia Naudi
• Joseph Zammit Lupi (born in 1925) was the son of Vincent Zammit Lupi and Helen; Reginald Vella Tomlin (born in 1926) was the son of Emmanuel Benjamin Vella and Priscilla Tomlin
• Joseph M. Borg Xuereb (born in 1928) was the son of Carmel Borg and Maria Xuereb
• Joseph Zammit Mangion (born in 1929) was the son of Louis Zammit and Sylvia Mangion
• Anthony Agius Muscat (born in 1931) was the son of Joseph Agius and Maria Stella Muscat
• Joseph Micallef Stafrace (born in 1932) was the son of Joseph Micallef and Carmela Stafrace

These are not necessarily the ancestors or the first bearers of these double names, but they are surely very early occurrences.

Text published with the kind permission of Mario CASSAR

1. Introduction
2. Some random thoughts
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