Some Gibraltarians are an
ethnic and cultural mixture of the many immigrants who came to the
Rock of Gibraltar over 300 years. Following its
capture from Spain by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704, all but 70 of the existing inhabitants of Gibraltar elected to leave with many settling nearby. Since then, immigrants from the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy,
Malta,
Portugal,
Morocco,
Menorca, and
India have settled at Gibraltar, as have
Sephardic Jews from
North Africa.
Genoese and
Catalans (who arrived in the fleet with
Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt) became the core of Gibraltar's first civilian population under Habsburg Gibraltar.
Sephardi Jews from
Tetouan in
Morocco, who had previously been suppliers to
English Tangier, began supplying fresh produce to Gibraltar in 1704. Most Gibraltarian surnames are of Mediterranean or British extraction. The exact breakdown (including non-Gibraltarian British residents) of
family names according to the electoral register according to the 1995 Census was as follows:
Jews in Gibraltar by 1755 together with the
Genoese in Gibraltar formed 50% of the civilian population (then 1,300). In 1888 construction of the new harbour at Gibraltar began to provide an additional
coaling station on the British routes to the East. This resulted in the importation of
Maltese labour both to assist in its construction, and to replace striking Genoese labour in the old coaling lighter-based industry. Maltese and
Portuguese people formed the majority of this new population. Other groups include
Menorcans (due to the links between both
British possessions during the 18th century; immigration began in that century and continued even after Menorca was returned to Spain in 1802 by the
Treaty of Amiens),
Sardinians,
Sicilians and other
Italians,
French, and
British people. Immigration from Spain (including refugees from the Spanish Civil War) and intermarriage with Spaniards from the
surrounding Spanish towns was a constant feature of
Gibraltar's history until General
Francisco Franco closed the border with Gibraltar, cutting off many Gibraltarians from their relatives on the Spanish side of the border. The Spanish government reopened the land border, but other restrictions remain in place. For the period of
World War II the border was closed, although Spain was nominally neutral, as Franco's regime was effectively allied with
Nazi Germany.
Genoese/Italian surnames Research by Fiorenzo Toso in 2000 about the names of
Gibraltarian families of Genoese origins found that most of the emigration from the Italian region
Liguria was from the areas of
Genoa and
Savona, and some surnames such as Caruana, often believed to be
Maltese, originate from
Sicilians who emigrated to Malta during the Italian
Renaissance). The following are the most common Genoese surnames in Gibraltar, according to Toso's research. The number of Gibraltarian residents who have these surnames, according to Gibraltar's Yellow Pages are provided in parentheses. • Parody (45), Baglietto (45), Danino (33), Olivero (50), Robba (32), Montegriffo (34), Chipolina (25), Ferrary (35), Ramagge (24), Picardo (6), Isola (24), Canepa (12), Cavilla (14) and Bossano (15).
Maltese surnames By 1912, the total number of Maltese living in Gibraltar was not above 700. Many worked in the
dockyard and others operated businesses which were usually ancillary to the dockyard. However, the
economy of Gibraltar was not capable of absorbing a large number of immigrants from Malta; the number of Maltese was already in decline as they returned to the
Maltese Islands. Eventually those who stayed in Gibraltar became very much involved in the economic and social life of the colony, most of them also being staunch supporters of links with the UK. Below is a list of the most common Maltese surnames in Gibraltar along with the current number of Gibraltarians who possess them. • Azzopardi (22), Barbara (12), Borg (46), Bugeja (11), Buhagiar (14), Buttigieg (18), Zammit (37). == Nationality ==