A 2011 census revealed that a quarter of the Maltese population share ten surnames - out of 19,104 surnames in Malta. It should be safe to say that most of these people are somehow related to each other…they were the first families to populate the island. In Malta we find Borg, Camilleri, Vella, Farrugia, Zammit, Galea, Micallef, Grech, Attard and Spiteri as the most prominent (in that order); in Gozo, Vella, Attard, Camilleri, Grech, Portelli, Buttigieg, Sultana, Azzopardi, Spiteri and Zammit dominate the scene.

Let’s take a look at the Grech name: what does it mean, where does it come from, where do most of the island’s Grechs live and who of these has made a name for themselves?

English pronunciation guide

Right, let’s get one thing clear. This name cannot be pronounced according to English rules, because it is not an English name. Forget sounding the ‘ch’ as in ‘chair’…it is more like the Italian sound we recognise as ‘k’. So just say ‘Grekk’ and you’re almost there.

What is the origin of this surname?

Then, not surprisingly, the name likely has its origins in Italy, with the name ‘Greco’ constuting 41% of all the name’s variations. Groch, Greth, Rech, Krech, Pech, Grosh, Kresch, Piech, Gosch are other variations stemming from the Greek personal name Gregorios (or Latin Gregorius), and this spread across England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Germanic Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia.

What does 'Grech' mean?

The Greek ‘Gregorios’ is a derivative of gregorein meaning ‘to be awake’ or ‘to be watchful’. However, the Latin form, Gregorius, was associated with folk etymology, namely grex, gregis, meaning ‘flock’ or ‘herd’. Just think of the collective noun ‘aggregate’. To support this, the association with the Christian image of the good shepherd led sixteen popes to be named Gregory!

Where you’re most likely to find a Grech in Malta

The majority of Grechs are found, in a close tie, in Zabbar and Birkirkara. These are closely followed by Qormi, Victoria (Gozo), Mosta and Naxxar. These constitute almost a third of all Grechs in Malta and Gozo. When one considers that Grech is the 8th most common name in Malta and the 4th most common name in Gozo, that’s a pretty high density!

Five Famous Grechs

Notable people with the surname Grech include:

Karin Grech (1962–1977), a 15-year-old political murder victim; San Gwann children’s playground and a rehabilitation hospital are both named after her.

Joe Grech (born 1934), a Maltese singer who won the first Malta Song Festival in 1960.

Lino Grech (1930-2013) was a Maltese actor, writer and director noted for his role on the television 1970s drama F'Bahar Wiehed, the first Maltese language TV series broadcast on national television.

Prosper Grech (born 1925) is a Maltese Augustinian friar, who co-founded the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome and was made a cardinal in 2012.

BONUS! Finally, a famous Grech who is not quite from our shores: Argentine born footballer Leandro Grech (born 1980). He plays as a Midfielder with SpVgg 07 Elversberg, a German football club.