Maltese Americans ( Maltese: ''Maltin Amerikani'' or ''Maltin tal-Amerika'') are Americans with Maltese ancestry.

History

The first immigrants from

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

to the United States arrived during the mid-eighteenth century to the city of

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. Many Americans assumed Malta was part of Italy. In some cases "Born Malta, Italy" was put on tombstones of Maltese because of the confusion. At this time and in the nineteenth century the Maltese who emigrated to the United States were still scarce. In fact, in the 1860s, only between five and ten Maltese emigrated to the United States every year. The majority of them were agricultural workers, and, in the case of New Orleans, market gardeners and vegetable dealers.

20th century

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, 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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

attracted Maltese immigrants. 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.

Demography

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 Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

. San Francisco and Chicago also have significant populations. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated that there were 42,058 Americans of Maltese ancestry living in the United States. Of these, 14,078 have Maltese as their only ancestry. 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.

Religion

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.

Notable people

Rosemarie Aquilina Rosemarie Elizabeth Aquilina (born April 25, 1958) is an American judge. She is a judge of the 30th circuit court in Ingham County, Michigan. Previously, Aquilina was the 55th District Court Judge, where she served as both a Sobriety Court Jud ...

, judge *

Kyle Balda Kyle Balda (born March 9, 1971) is an American animator and film director, best known for co-directing the Illumination films ''The Lorax'' (2012), with Chris Renaud; '' Minions'' (2015), with Pierre Coffin; and '' Minions: The Rise of Gru'' ( ...

, animator and film director * Joseph Borg, financial regulator *

Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II (May 20, 1947 – January 27, 2019) was a Maltese-American literary scholar and translator. He served as William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame until his retirement in 2017, when he ...

,''South Bend Tribune'
Obituary of Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II
South Bend, Indiana. Retrieved January 27, 2019. literary scholar and translator * Pete Buttigieg, Former mayor of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, 2020 presidential candidate, US Secretary of Transportation *

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the British Transport ...

, actor and singer *

Orlando E. Caruana Private Orlando Emanuel Caruana (June 23, 1844 – September 14, 1917) was a Maltese-born American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Caruana received the country's highest award for bravery during combat, the Medal of Honor, for his ...

* Darrin Q. Camilleri, member of the Michigan House of Representatives *

Alex DeBrincat Alexander DeBrincat (born December 18, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round, 39th overall, of the 2 ...

, hockey player *

Aaron Falzon Aaron Michael Falzon (born May 19, 1996) is a Maltese professional basketball player for Kagawa Five Arrows of the B.League. He also plays on the Malta national basketball team. He played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats and Quinn ...

, basketball player *

Tevin Falzon Tevin Alexander Falzon (born November 19, 1992) 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 ...

, basketball player *

Danielle Fishel Danielle Christine Fishel (born May 5, 1981) is an American actress, director, model, and television personality. She began her career in theater, appearing in community productions of ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Peter Pan''. She made her debut ...

* Nazzareno Formosa *

Joseph Lapira Joseph Lapira (born August 13, 1986, Rochester, New York) is a retired soccer player. Born in the United States, Lapira is a one time international for the Republic of Ireland national football team. Besides the United States, he has played in N ...

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

* Britney Spears * Bryan Spears *

Jamie Lynn Spears Jamie Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. From 2005 to 2008, Spears played Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon teen sitcom ''Zoey 101''. She is the younger sister of singer Britney Spears. Beginning in December ...

Lynne Spears Lynne Irene Spears ( Bridges; born May 4, 1955) is an American author and mother of pop singer Britney Spears, as well as producer Bryan Spears and child star Jamie Lynn Spears. Biography Early life and family Lynne Irene Bridges was born on Ma ...

* Charlie Williams

References

External links

Maltese American Benevolent Society
in Detroit {{Authority control European-American society