| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 42,058 [1] c. 0.01% of the U.S. population (2019) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Detroit, New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago [2] | |
| Languages | |
| English, Maltese, Maltese Italian | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Italian Americans, Sicilian Americans, Corsican American, Maltese Canadians, Maltese Australians, British Maltese |
Maltese Americans (Maltese: Maltin Amerikani or Maltin tal-Amerika) are Americans with Maltese ancestry. [3]
The first immigrants from Malta to the United States arrived during the mid-eighteenth century to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Many Americans assumed Malta was part of Italy. In some cases "Born Malta, Italy" was put on tombstones of Maltese because of the confusion. [4]
After World War I, in 1919, Maltese immigration to the US increased. In the first quarter of 1920 more than 1,300 Maltese immigrated to the United States. Detroit, Michigan, with jobs in the expanding automobile industry, drew the largest share of immigrants. It is believed that in the following years, more than 15,000 Maltese people emigrated to the United States, later getting U.S. citizenship.
A significant percentage of early Maltese immigrants intended to stay only temporarily for work, but many settled in the US permanently. In addition to Detroit, other industrial cities such as New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago attracted Maltese immigrants. [2]
After World War II the Maltese government committed to pay passage costs to Maltese people who wanted to emigrate and live at least two years abroad. This program led to increased emigration by the people of the island and made up approximately 8,000 Maltese who arrived to the United States between the years 1947 and 1977. Malta's government promoted Maltese emigration because Malta was overpopulated. [2]
Estimates of the number of Maltese immigrants and their descendants living in the US by 1990 have been as high as 70,000. The majority of Americans of Maltese descent continued to live in the same cities where immigration had taken place, particularly Detroit (approximately 44,000 Maltese) and New York City (more than 20,000 Maltese); in the latter, most of the people of Maltese origin are concentrated in Astoria, Queens. San Francisco and Chicago also have significant populations. [2]
The 2019 American Community Survey estimated that there were 42,058 Americans of Maltese ancestry living in the United States. [5] Of these, 14,078 have Maltese as their only ancestry. [6] This includes Maltese born immigrants to the United States, their American-born descendants as well as numerous immigrants from other nations of Maltese origin. Around 6,506 of them are foreign born. [7]
As in their country of origin, Maltese Americans predominantly practice Roman Catholicism as their religion. Many are practicing Catholics, attending church every week and actively participating in their local parishes. [2]
The Maltese people are an ethnic group native to Malta who speak Maltese, a Semitic language and share a common culture and Maltese history. Malta, an island country in the Mediterranean Sea, is an archipelago that also includes an island of the same name together with the islands of Gozo and Comino ; people of Gozo, Gozitans are considered a subgroup of the Maltese.
Ħamrun Spartans Football Club is a Maltese professional football club based in Ħamrun. Since being founded in 1907, Ħamrun Spartans have won ten league championships, the latest one being in 2024, while being runners-up eleven times.
Belgian Americans are Americans who can trace their ancestry to people from Belgium who immigrated to the United States. While the first natives of the then-Southern Netherlands arrived in America in the 17th century, most Belgian immigrants arrived during the 19th and the 20th centuries.
Gabriel Caruana was a Maltese artist who worked primarily in ceramics. He studied at the Malta School of Art (1953–59), the Accademia Pietro Vannucci in Perugia (1965), the School of the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (1966) and the Istituto Statale per la Ceramica in Faenza (1967).
Maestro Chev. Carmelo Pace was a Maltese composer, and a professor of music theory and harmony. Born in Valletta, Malta on August 17, 1906, Pace was the eldest of three children. His parents were Anthony Pace and Maria Carmela née Ciappara.
Maltese Australians are Australian citizens who are fully or partially of Maltese descent or Malta-born persons who reside in Australia. According to the 2021 Census, there were 198,989 people of Maltese descent in Australia and 35,413 Malta-born people residing in the country at the moment of the census.
General elections were held in Malta on 17 and 18 September 1976. The Malta Labour Party remained the largest party, winning 34 of the 65 seats.
Gibraltarians are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a 2010 American Community Survey, there are roughly 35,103 Maltese Americans residing in the United States.
Sammarinese Americans are Americans of Sammarinese descent.
Palazzo Ferreria, officially Palazzo Buttiġieġ-Francia, is a palace found near the entrance of Valletta, the capital city of Malta. It was built in the late 19th century. Designed by architect Giuseppe Bonavia, it makes use of an interesting concept of adding local timber balconies to a design inspired from that of buildings in Italy. It is protected as a Grade 2 national monument.
Antoine Camilleri MQR, was a Maltese artist and art teacher who made a lasting impact on the development of Maltese modern and contemporary art. He retains a special and unique place in Maltese Contemporary Art, mainly of a spirited father, loving teacher and as an artist who matured through the hardship of life. Camilleri's work is very personal, usually drawing from events or experiences in the artist's life. His self-image in particular is repeated throughout his work using various media including, oils, lino prints, clay and objet trouvé. Throughout the years, Antoine Camilleri experimented with a variety of media and he will be mostly remembered for his unique style as pictures in clay involving the working and manipulation of clay and its dry cracked textures.
The 2018–19 Maltese Premier League was the 104th season of top-flight league football in Malta. The season began on 17 August 2018 and ended in April 2019. Defending champions Valletta won their 25th title, following a penalty shootout win against Hibernians in a championship decider match.
The 2019–20 Maltese Premier League was the 105th season of the Maltese Premier League, the top-flight league football in Malta. The fixtures were announced on 2 July 2019; the season started on 23 August 2019 and was scheduled to conclude on 25 April 2020. Valletta were the defending champions, having won their 25th title the previous season.
Tevin Alexander Falzon is a Maltese-American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Palestrina of the Italian Serie B Basket. He played college basketball for the Sacred Heart Pioneers. He is also a member of the Maltese national team.
Norman Buttigieg is a Maltese former footballer who played as a sweeper.
The Corfiot Maltese are a population from the Greek island of Corfu (Kerkyra) with ethnic and religious ties to the islands of Malta. A large community of descendants of Maltese is still present in Corfu. In the case of the Maltese Corfiot, who lost knowledge of the Maltese language in favour of Greek in the first half of the 20th century, religious confession remained the strongest identity marker. Maltese Corfiots today make up 2/3 of the local Catholic community.
But on my mama's side, the family tree is a little more colorful and glamorous. Her father, my grandfather, was Anthony Portelli, who came from the island of Malta.
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
