The 'Agius' surname
... on the Internet
Contents:
The 'Agius' surname in the past.
The crest or 'arms'.
The derivation of the surname 'Agius'.
'Agius' - Where are they now? (includes WWW links).
The 'Agius' surname in the past.
There were reportedly a dozen 'Agius' listed in the rolls of the militia in the island of Malta at the beginning of the 15th century, approximately doubling towards the end of that century (Wettinger G 1968). In the late sixteenth century, one of the 'Giurati' of the 'Universita' (civilian represenatives in the then capital Citta Notabile or Mdina) was called Michele Agius (Giovanni Antonio Vassallo. Storia di Malta. 1890. p516).
There are references to clerics bearing the surname Agius in Malta in the 17th and 18th centuries. The oldest known substantive written account published by a person bearing the surname 'Agius' were from the linguist and historian Canon Gian P.F. Agius de Soldanis.
Probably his most famous work was that published by him in Rome in 1750. A copy of the frontispiece of this book is shown alongside. In it Agius describes the grammar of the Maltese language and presents his hypothesis as to the origins of the language from the Punic language of the Etruscans. (Incidentally the hypothesis was incorrect - but at least he raised interest in the subject!)
The surname 'Agius' appears frequently at the time of the French Occupation of Malta (1798 -1800). Thus one of the four physicians dealing with public health in the capital city Valletta and in the 'Three Cities' was Giovanni Agius. Amongst the soldiers fighting against the French occupation were Major Fredric Agius (who had been adjutant of the Valletta militia), Captain Guzeppi Agius, and Sergeant Felic Agius. The liberated portions of the Maltese islands elected representatives to a 'National Congress' - the chairman of the assembly was Judge Dr Luigi Agius, while one of the secretaries was Giovanni Battista Agius. (C.J.Boffa 1998). Earlier still, in Wettinger's account of the Militia List of 1419-1420, the surname may have been listed as Haiuz.
An eminent cleric by the name of Agius was the prelate Archbishop Ambrosio Agius, titular archbishop of Palmira who was assigned papal legate to the Philippines in 1901, by Pope Leo XIII. He had been a member of the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino.
The crest of the 'Agius' surname.
The image below shows the Agius crest (painted by Thomas when he was younger) and consisting of a crowned griffin (griffon, gryphon), standing on its hind legs holding a sword, climbing on a triple mound, and with a star.In heraldic terms, the blazon of arms has been described as:
'Azure; upon a mountain of three, argent, a griffon salient or,
crowned
of the same and holding in pale a sword of the second with crosspiece
and
grip of the third and in chief dexter a mullet of six points or'.
A model made by Thomas to depict the 'Agius' surname crest or arms, adapted from Warhammer (R) appears below:
A
sealing wax impression of an 'Agius' signet ring appears alongside on
the
left.
The derivation of the surname 'Agius'.
There have been several explanations postulated for the origin of this surname, with comparatively little evidence. Here are some:There is a Greek word agios (spelled alpha-gamma-giota-omicron-sigma) which means saint, and so some have suggested that the Maltese surname Agius is of Greek origin meaning 'saintly' or 'holy' or "deserving of honour". The surname Agius thus could have been a nickname describing someone of high morals or who was very pious. There is no conclusive evidence for this derivation as far as can be made out, and Arabic origins have been mooted; for example one version is that 'Agius' meant something like an old man or a wise old woman (in Arabic). In this context, it has been said, though not so far corroborated, that the 'motto' that goes with the Agius surname, derived from the Book of Ecclesiasticus Chapter 25 is: "Corona senum multa peritia", This could be literally translated into English as: "Much experience is the crown of old men".
Professor Godfrey Wettinger's work on "The Origin of the ‘Maltese’ Surnames" mentions the surname but does not provide specific etymologic details.
However, in the monograph by Professor Dionisius A Agius (formerly at the University of Leeds, but now at the University of Exeter) entitled Siculo Arabic (Kegan Paul International; 1996. ISBN: 0-7103-0497-8) in Chapter 6 (Phonological Correspondences) page 262, he adduces a derivation of 'Agius' via 'Agegius', "from the person who performed hagg" {i.e. "the pilgrimage to (Makka)"}..
As far as is known the Italian surname agus, sardinian place name aggius and maltese surname agius are unrelated.
'Agius'. - Where are they now?
Most people bearing the surname 'Agius' were born in Malta or are descendants of migrants from Malta mainly in the 20th century. There is evidence of a limited degree of migration around the Mediterranean basin in the past but most recent migration took place after the second World War to Australia and North America.In the Malta telephone directory, about 1.3% of the entries relate to the surname 'Agius'.
It is difficult to tell how many people bear the surname of 'Agius' worldwide- perhaps to the order of about ten thousand. there is even a group on Facebook
The following are links to various World Wide Web sites related to 'Agius':
