While confirming Maltese descent for citizenship or legal purposes is a goal for some clients, many seek to reconnect with a family past that spans centuries of cultural interaction and Mediterranean identity. Our research is carried out in Malta’s central archives, diocesan repositories, parish collections, and notarial registries, which hold a wide range of ecclesiastical and civil documentation. We retrieve baptismal, marriage, and burial records, wills and dowry contracts, censuses, and family petitions, many of which were written in Latin, Italian, or Maltese depending on the time period. Our team also consults archival material from foreign powers that historically governed Malta, including Spanish royal documents, Napoleonic civil records, and British colonial registers. Family history books are carefully compiled and may include transcribed documents, genealogical charts, family narratives.

Genealogical research in Malta offers a unique window into the complex and layered history of this island nation at the crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean. Despite its small size, Malta possesses a remarkably rich documentary tradition shaped by centuries of foreign rule, maritime trade, and strong religious identity. Its strategic location between Southern Europe and North Africa brought the island under the control of the Normans, Aragonese, Knights Hospitaller, French, and British, each of whom contributed to Malta’s administrative and archival systems. The Roman Catholic Church has long played a central role in recordkeeping, and today Malta preserves one of the most continuous and detailed genealogical archives in the Mediterranean. At the European Genealogical Center, we assist clients in tracing Maltese ancestry through parish records, noble family registries, legal documents, and notarial acts — bringing to life the stories of families who lived, migrated, married, and thrived in these islands from the 15th century to the present day.

In addition to core genealogical sources, we examine a range of supporting records that shed light on daily life in historic Malta. These include ecclesiastical visitations, inquisitorial reports, census-like household surveys (Status Animarum), military service lists, apprenticeship contracts, and educational registers from ecclesiastical colleges and religious orders. For noble or notable families, we consult published genealogical compilations and manuscripts that trace lineage through centuries, often linking Maltese houses to continental European nobility. Special attention is given to maritime and mercantile records, which document family activity across the Mediterranean.

Time inexorably races forward, carrying away the pages of history and the mysterious destinies of ancestors left in the past. It's challenging to comprehend, but behind each person in the genealogical tree lies an entire lived life. These individuals left their mark in time, filling their lives with events, joy, sorrow, happiness, and sadness. Despite having long faded into oblivion, their legacy, like an invisible thread, connects us to the past. The importance of preserving this history is undeniable. The European Genealogical Center provides an opportunity to dive into family history. Remembering, cherishing, and respecting it not only allows us to delve into our past but also strengthens our connection to what makes us a unique part of this world.

The primary sources for Maltese genealogy are parish registers, many of which date from the early 1500s. These records — primarily baptismal, matrimonial, and burial entries — are vital to reconstructing family lines and often include extensive marginal notes that reveal occupations, witnesses, social standing, or affiliations with religious confraternities. Civil registration was introduced under British rule in the 19th century, offering additional documentation of births, marriages, and deaths. In parallel, notarial archives provide legal instruments such as wills, dowries, land transactions, and court testimonies, which offer insight into family property, economic activity, and legal disputes. Given the island’s dense population and long-standing urban settlements, many genealogical links can be traced through multiple branches, sometimes connecting to broader Mediterranean networks involving Sicily, Naples, Spain, and North Africa.