Cassar is a
Maltese
Maltese may refer to:
* Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta
* Maltese alphabet
* Maltese cuisine
* Maltese culture
* Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people
* Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...
surname.
According to Maltese linguist Mario Cassar, the surname is of
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
origin, and derives from the Muslim period of Malta.
there are also various other proposed origins of the surname.:
* It may be traced back to the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, incorporating the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
itself, the area around
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, and the southern part of the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
peninsula. The surname Cassar may have derived from the given name "Cesare," and further back from the Roman family name "Caesar." In
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...
, the name "Caesar" was associated by folk etymology with the Latin word "caesaries" (meaning head of hair). The Maltese Cassar coat of arms has the Latin word "SPES" (meaning "hope") inscribed on it.
* It may also derive from a fairly common surname in Italy and Sicily: Cassara, or Cassarino, possibly from a nickname "cassaio" meaning "producer of cases". However these surnames may also be derived from the given name "Cesare" or "Caesar".
The most important representatives of the family are the Cassar Desain, marchese de Sain in Malta and the Cassar Torregiani, one of the richest family in the 19th century in Malta.
References
{{reflist
Bibliography
*https://web.archive.org/web/20100521194935/http://www.searchmalta.com/surnames/cassarde-sain/index.shtml
*https://web.archive.org/web/20100107034828/http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/cassar_torregiani.htm
Surnames
Maltese-language surnames