Patron saints and football stadia: Malta’s predilection for house names

At least 240 houses in 10 major Maltese localities are named after St Joseph, the patron saint of the working class and also the secondary patron saint in a number of Maltese towns.

For the man revered as the father of Jesus Christ, it makes his the most popular name chosen for house in these particular localities, where 10% of houses are named after religious figures.

But this very Maltese of traits is now down from 16% of houses back in 1977, a study based on over 19,600 houses names in 10 villages shows. Two-thirds of these houses have a name – rather than just a number denoting their address – with the use of anglophone names still predominant, and now less likely to use religious monikers.

The study, published in science journal Xjenza was conducted by a team of University of Malta sociologists led by Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino, on the house names in Għaxaq, Gżira, Marsaskala, Msida (including Swatar), Mosta, Mtarfa, Qormi, Żejtun and Żurrieq.

A substantial 66.1% of these homes had a house name, the typical stamp of Maltese uniqueness when compared to other European countries where most houses are simply numbered. One main reason for this is that until the late 20th century, Maltese houses were not assigned with numbers, and residents would identify newly built houses by assigning them a name, a practice which continues right to this day.

The prevalence of house-naming is particularly high in localities where homes are primarily owned and occupied by their residents, such as Għaxaq, Marsaskala, and Mosta, with rates as high as 82.1%. In contrast, in localities like Senglea, characterised by a substantial stock of social housing, only 8% of houses have a name.

The study suggests that the high frequency of naming houses in Malta partly serves as a means for individuals and communities to express their identities and affiliations through their choice of house names. “Many Maltese collectively still use house names as a way to express, maintain and affirm traditional local parochial allegiances, as manifest in other cultural practices such as festas and fireworks.”

Mixing languages in naming houses

English remains the most commonly used language for house names, followed by Maltese. This is not so surprising in a country where English remains the preferred medium in writing.

For example, in Marsaskala while 710 houses are named in English, only 219 houses are named in Maltese. The only exception to this trend was Msida where among post-1977 houses, Italian comes in as a distant second. But the study also hints at an increased tendency to mix languages when naming houses. This is particularly the case in Marsaskala and Żejtun. In the pre-1977 era, there were already some noteworthy mixed-language house names, such as ‘Razzett Bella Vista’, ‘Dar Frate Jacoba,’ and ‘Aqua Gem’.

Since 1977, Marsaskala has witnessed the emergence of at least 11 more mixed-language house names, including ‘El Kantaoui Flats,’ ‘Tal-Bidni Farmhouse,’ ‘Monte Carmelo Flats,’ ‘Quċċa Garage,’ ‘Farmhouse Sqaq il-Ħrejba,’ ‘Casa Abela,’ ‘Gandoffla Court,’ ‘Carina Tower Estate,’ ‘Tal-Farmhouse,’ and ‘Sea La Vie.’ This proliferation of mixed-language house names in Marsaskala could be a reflection of the more cosmopolitan nature of this coastal community.

But the largest number of mixed-language houses is found in Żejtun: before 1977, the town already had 30 mixed-language house names, including the evocative ‘Mamma Mia Lodge’ combining Italian and English. Since 1977, an additional 38 mixed-language house names have emerged, with examples like ‘Mater Grazzja’ blending Latin and Maltese.

Secularisation of house names

House names with strong religious or sacred connotations showed a decline, dropping from 16% in 1977 to 10% in the period between 1977 to 2022.

The decrease was more pronounced in some localities like Żurrieq where the percentage of houses which have a religious name has decreased from 36% among pre-1977 houses, to 14.3% for post-1977 homes.

But this trend was reversed in Gżira and Msida, which have seen a slight increase in religious house names. In Gżira, these names rose from 12.9% to 13.8%, and in Msida, from 10.4% to 11.2%. This shift might be attributed to the construction of new apartment buildings, maintaining a link to faith even in modern urban settings.

Indeed, while noting that the recourse to religious house names has declined, the study asks whether the Maltese are still resorting to religiously inspired house names, particularly those referring to patron saints, as a “counterfoil to secularization and globalisation.” For many are the homes still named for the patron saint of the town or village, as is the case with St Catherine in Żejtun, St Mary in Mosta, and St George and St Sebastian (and derivatives) in Qormi.

Why St Joseph is so popular

The study found 240 houses named ‘St Joseph’ in the ten localities under study, accounting for approximately one out of every 82 house names. This prevalence of ‘St Joseph’ and its linguistic derivatives like ‘San Ġużepp’ in Maltese or ‘San Giuseppe’ in Italian reflects historical factors. This is because St Joseph became the rallying point for the development of most secondary feasts in Malta, often borne of working-class factions inside towns as a rival to the primary feast preferred by the local elite.

Moreover apart from being a religious figure he is also the patron saint of workers, aligning well with the ideology of the Maltese Labour Party.

One also comes across houses named for Maltese political giants like Dom (short version for Dominic, the first name of Labour premier Mintoff) or watershed political events like Dar il-Ħelsien (Freedom House), Villa Indipendenza (Villa Independence]) and 31 ta’ Marzu (31st March: one of Malta’s national days).

Nature calls and mixing initials

But secular house names have become more popular, and some of these appear on the facades of many homes: ‘Sea Breeze’, a naturalistic house name, is the second most common choice for a house namde in post-1977 Marsaskala (14 times), as well as other natural features such as Il-Qolla (The Hillock), Għabex and Tramonto (Sunset), il-Ponta (the Point), Bay View, Mistral, Dahlia, Poinsettia and Rainbow.

One common practice identified in the study is that of naming the house with a selection of letters from the names of the partners (or children) living there. Examples include ChaRit, MarTrev, CarAnt and NaJoPetAn, a practice which according to the authors “has the character of a pub quiz”, leaving passers-by wondering for whom these houses are named for.

One of the most original names found was ‘Dar u Telaq’, a pun on the Maltese word ‘dar’ which, apart from being the noun ‘home’, also stands for the verb ‘turned’ (so the witty name actually says ‘turned and left’). This suggests that some contemporary Maltese are using ‘clever’ combinations to name their home, a practice increasingly common in other countries like the United Kingdom.

And of course, one of the most curious findings was the popularity of the name ‘Anfield’, home of Liverpool FC, and the chosen name of 16 post-1977 homes in Mosta. This made this house name the second most popular for post-1977 houses in this locality.

Other house names suggesting a sporting connection found in various localities were La Vecchia Signora (Juventus FC), Old Trafford (Manchester United FC), Casa Del Piero (probably named for the famous Juventus player Alessandro, as well as AC Milan and Inter’s stadium ‘San Siro’ and Spurs’ home ‘White Hart Lane’.