The aim of this public lecture is twofold. First of all, it seeks to shed light on ‘Gozitan surnames’ from a historical point of view, concentrating mainly on the Medieval and the Early Modern Periods. It then seeks to deliver a concise overview of Gozo’s current onomastic scenario. It attempts to address a number of questions, such as: Which are the oldest ‘Gozitan surnames’? Why have many medieval surnames disappeared from the present onomasticon? In what way did the cognominal pool change after the debacle of 1551? Is the present Gozitan onomasticon that different from the Maltese one? Which are the commonest surnames in modern-day Gozo? Do Gozitan localities exhibit any idiosyncrasies within their cognominal repertoire? Which are the main sources available to contemporary family historians and surname researchers?

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Mario Cassar, B.Ed. (Hons), M.A. (Maltese), Ph.D. (Maltese Studies) is an associate professor within the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta Junior College. Between 1992 and 1994 he was president of the Għaqda tal-Malti (Università), whereas between 2017 and 2018 he was president of the Akkademja tal-Malti. He is the author of Ir-Reqqa tal-Kitba (Malta, 2000), The Surnames of the Maltese Islands: An Etymological Dictionary (Malta, 2003), Storja tal-Ilsien u l-Letteratura Maltija (Malta, 2020), as well as several critical essays and academic papers related to the study of Maltese onomastics, language, and literature. He has also co-authored Il-Qari tal-Letteratura (Malta, 2009), L’ultima città musulmana: Lucera (Bari, 2012), and Dizionario dei cognomi italiani di origine araba (Pisa, 2021). His doctoral (unpublished) thesis was entitled Maltese Surnames: The Sicilian and Italian Connections (University of Malta, 2011).