Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Crazy Maltese House Names 1

We, Maltese have some fascinating customs and reasons behind the selection of our house names. One custom is that of naming one's house using the first part of the Christian names of the partners who own that house. Here are some examples:

'Marton'- Mary and Tony
'Josmar' - Joseph and Mary
'Carvin' -Carmen and Vince
'Charldor'- Charles and Doreen

Incidentally, DJ Bundy, a local DJ, once mentioned that there is a house in Zurrieq which was named "Condom" which we hopefully assume stands for the names of the proprietors rather than some kind of fetish for rubbery stuff. Some people can be so dumb at times.

Another custom is to find house names which are based on religious beliefs. Religious observance in Malta is strong and has been so for many centuries. Most of these house names usually bear the name of the proprietors' favourite patron saint or that of the patron saint of the village. For example if you go to Qormi you'll see lots of 'St Georges' and 'St Sebastians'. In Zabbar you will find many houses named 'Madonna tal-Grazzja'.

Then there are those houses which are named 'God Bless Australia', 'America' or 'Canada'. These reflect the migration of the Maltese to the above mentioned countries and the successful life they once bore.

And then, there are the plain weird ones of which I'm building a collection. Here are the first few.



Hmm the owner needs to brush up his French. I guess it should have been Mère de Grâce.



Did you know that St Joseph had a surname? It was Falzon!



A little demon in the house?? Short for Important?



Here's an example of the first custom I mentioned ...but pet's name has been also included.



Time Travellers robbed of their unknown future, maybe?

And last but not least, I couldn't help taking a photo of this hilarious plate. It does give you a sense of welcome, doesn't it?

14 comments:

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

I didn't know you guys had names for your houses, that's pretty cool :D Maybe I'll start a trend here by naming my house too ... hmmmm, I wonder what I'll call it ... Hehehe!

Suki said...

We have a mixture of house names, house numbers or both.
With regards to your house name - huh- with your sense of humour I'd be surprised with what you might come up with.

clare @ the pretty walrus said...

lolol oh I could go on for hours about this! I love that you actually took pictures of them though! Oh and there's one in Gozo actually called 'God Bless the United States of America'

So much for concise addresses, huh? :P

Suki said...

@ Kle: I think I have seen that house.They've even got an American flag hanging outside. So much for Gozitan pride!

Sue said...

LOL...thank you Zen, I had a couple of good laughs with these, the last one (italian) might as well just put an " ATTENTI AL CANE!" sign... giggle!!!

Suki said...

@Sue: Good to hear you had a good laugh! I'll be on the lookout for more funny house names.

Doreen said...

HeeHee great posting, Zen!
I have actually been thinking of posting pictures of such on my blog...there are so many unusual ones and I loved the weird ones you found : D
Isn't it amazing how some people think huh!
Thanks for the smiles : ))

Suki said...

@Doreen: Thank you. Am keeping my eyes peeled for more weird ones.

Suki said...

Thank you TeeTee!

beta-j said...

There are two adjacent houses in Marsascala....one is called 'Zewg' the one next to it is called 'Fart'!!!

...maybe someone should tell them that it should be spelled with a 'd' ;)

w said...

This is awesome!!! I will keep my eyes open and will tell you when I see outrageous house names :) I am sure it will be easy :) I have seen a couple already here and there :) I love the one of the 'cane nervoso' LOL

Suki said...

Hello Beta-J - M'Scala happens to be my hometown but I haven't come across these two houses. Which street are they in?

@Wen: Thanks Wen. I would appreciate that!

Bjond said...

Great Post!
There is a house in Fgura called Petrified, and another called Feliz Navidad!

The Abacus said...

Nice one. I have also seen some funny ones. One called 'Insomnia' in Qormi, 'Smirnoff' in Fgura, and 'Welcome to our zoo' in Birzebbuga. And I also saw one called 'Mein Kampf' but I forgot the location.