Submitted by Manuel Psaila
In this instance the surname derives from the italian name Camillo,
further derived from the latin"Cammillus", from Camillus", apparently of
Etruscan origin, which indicated a young man or women who participated
in sacred ceremonies. the sername Camilleri thus means "son or decendant
of Camillo", a name which became popular because of the prestige
associated with Marcus Furius Camillus, the second founder of Rome after
the Gallic invadsion. his earliest victory was the capture of Etruscan
Veii in 396 B.C. tradition states that Camillus, who had been exiled to
Ardea, was appointed dictator when the gauls attacked Rome. he
subsequently levied an army and defeated the Gauls. after the spread of
christinity, the name Camillo spread because of the devation to Saint
Camillo de Lellis, founder of the ministers of the sick, who was born in
Bacchianica in 1550. the maltese language is similar in vacabulary to
syriac and arabic, thought its alphabet and grannatical structure and
derived from latin. the history of malta dated back to ancient times. it
was the phoenician colony in 1000 bc and was colonised by the greeks in
736 bc during the devision of the roman empire in 395 ad. malta was
awared the eastern roman empire. in addition to the referenced
previously mentioned, documents show that the coat of arms decribed
below was granted to the camilleri family whose members are listed
amoung the nobility of Malta.
Info Submitted by Emanuel Camilleri
Hi Emmanuel,
I read the information regarding the origin of the Camilleri surname,
and after discussions with my father, he showed me a document written
by the Maltese Literature Group (in Australia) that shows a different
origin to the Camilleri surname.
This document, although written in Maltese indicates that Camilleri,
thought to have been originated from the Italian word Cammellieri
meaning Camel Drivers was proven to be incorrect as there were no
Camels in Italy. The document stated that Camilleri originated from
the combination of 2 words - Hal or Ca (abbreviation of Casal meaning
home or place) and Millieri (a small village near IZ-Zurrieq)the name
becoming Ca Millieri then becoming Camilleri.
I would appreciate your response to the information I have supplied
above, as I would really like to obtain the factual heritage of my
surname.
Best Regards
Jesmond Camilleri
Victoria Australia
Email: jescamilleri@hotmail.com
I am Fr. Sebastian Camilleri OFM, a Maltese Franciscan priest and came to Australia as a Chaplain of the Maltese migrants in 1949.
With interest, I read in the Internet the genealogy of the surname ' Camilleri'.
May I kindly make an observation in reference to its court of arms. In my candid opinion, the term Camilleri is of Spanish origin (Singular, ending in (o), plural ending in (os) and it derives from the Spanish word 'Camilla' which means a 'stretcher or a litter'.
Until a hundred years or so ago, nurses were of male gender and carrying the sick people on a stretcher was part and parcel of their nursing occupation. Today's St. John's Ambulance men and women perform a similar task to carry patients. It is obvious, that etymologically, in Spanish language, a stretcher-bearer is called 'CAMILLERO' and genealogically indicates, as well, the persons concerned in duties of this kind.
Historically, the name 'Camilleri' goes as far back to the time of the Catholic crusades which, initially, came into existence by the order of Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 for the deliverance of the Holy Places from the Turks who at the time prided themselves of a powerful Ottoman empire.
Bitterly disappointed by the Mohammedans capture of Toledo (Spain) in 1085 and of Lisbon (Portugal) in 1147, numerous European armies of Christian soldiers knights, men, women and children set out as crusaders to liberate Jerusalem from the Islamic domination. Indeed the crusaders were not immune from plagues and war casualties. Fervent Catholic Spain (and afterwards other Christian countries) supplied medicines and the Camilleros, stretcher - bearers, as male nurses, to carry the sick people and care for them all along and arduous journey to the east.
It is worth noting that the surname Camilleri is not 'CAMELLERI', which ending in 'o' in Spanish, means a: A camel rider: Camellero, deriving from the Spanish word Camello, a camel. Genetically, the authentic word Camilleri is a denotation of a Latin race and culture while the 'quarter moon and the camel' wrongly placed in the Camilleri's coat of arms, is a symbol detonating on oriental race and culture. To me this is incorrect and misleading. The camel, the quarter moon and the star should be removed from the Camilleri's coat of arms and be replaced by another proper, intelligent and significant heraldic symbol suitable to the coat of arms of Camilleri
With appreciation,
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Fr. Sebastian Camilleri OFM., OAM
Marianus Camilleri of Bubaqra went to Gozo
during the repopulation of
1565-80
Gregorius Cammileri of Milleri, Malta
went to Gozo during the
repopulation of 1565-80
Download the family tree Giustiniani Connection
Download the family tree House of Fontana
Submitted by COUNT CHARLES DE BRANCHEFORTE SAID
We are looking for info for this section please
Click Here
| Camilleri Ancestry Postings |
View the Camilleri Ancestry Book Here
- Angelo Camilleri - (who was a member in the parliament with the MLP. During the sixties, the Nationalist Party offered him money so that he will switch to the NP, this he refused.)
- Anna Maria Cammilleri - (Countess di Meimun 1784)
Camilleri Antoine, Artist b.Valletta 5 February 1922 s: of Joseph
Camilleri and Georgette (nee Mifsud). Married Therese Tanti 6 June
1954s: Gerard, Pierre, Antoine Paul dau:Mariella, Marthese; Studied art
at Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts Paris; awarded scholarship to Bath
Academy of Arts England, and to Perugia; founder member Modern Art
Group/Atelier 1956, and of Artist's Guild; exhibits regularly in Malta,
and in Paris, London, Edinburgh, New York, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Tripoli
and at Biennale di Venezia 1950; Art Teacher Education Dept.1976-79;
Education Officer (Arts and Crafts) won various prizes. Considered to be
one of the leading ( if not the leading), living, Maltese Artist.
- Miss Adelina Camilleri - (1982 - Miss Mosta, Miss Malta)
- Charles Camilleri - (Maltese Composer)
Notary F.S. Camilleri - (famous Maltese notary)
- Gio Maria Camilleri -
- Mgr. Giovanni Camilleri - (who was granted the title
of count by the pope Pius x in 1914. The surname is of Patronymic origin
deverting from the personal name of the father of the original bearer)
- Guiseppe Camilleri - (Maltese Patriot executed by Napoleon's army in 1799)
- Miss Josette Camilleri - (1988 - Miss Marsa, Miss Malta)
- Count Sir Lewis (Luigi) A.Camilleri - (born in Gozo, moved to Malta to become a young Lawyer, later to
became Chief Justice of Malta, and titled by young Queen Elizabeth. In his younger years, he married Erminia Cali, one of the daughters of Giuseppe Cali (artist) )
- Matthew Camilleri - (Maltese Patriot executed by Napoleon's army in 1799)
- Matilde Camilleri - (Countess Preziosi 1790)
- Paola Camilleri Spathelf - (Miss Republic of Malta 1993/1994 - Delegate of Miss Universe Beauty Pageant 1994)
- Terry Camilleri - (Australian actor who stared in the 70's cult
film 'The Cars That Ate Paris')
We are looking for info for this section please
Click Here
Search Malta does not verify the content of the information provided,
if you have any comments about certain inaccuracies please do not hesitate to
Some of these surnames are not of Maltese Origin but all the surnames are found in Malta, also note that colors
appear different on various browsers and operating systems depending of the gamma correction (eg a dark blue color on a Mac can appear almost black on a PC, silver might appear as cyan etc.).
If any information on this page violates any copyright law please do not hesitate to email us
|
|
|
