For the first time ever in Malta, typical Maltese names will be allowed for babies after the Public Registry got an IT update.

Traditional Maltese names like Ċikku, Ġina and Żeppi will be accepted in the coming weeks – and anyone who wants to edit their current name to include Maltese spelling can also do so. 

“I asked for this anomaly to be addressed by using a new IT system a few weeks back. In a short amount of time, I will see this change happen in full,” Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship Alex Muscat said as the change was announced.

Maltese parents have complained for decades about the fact that they couldn’t name Maltese babies using Maltese spelling and the issue was recently raised in Parliament by PN MP Ryan Callus.

While Identity Malta’s registry was apparently able to handle letters like Ħ, Ġ, Ż or Ċ, issues would arise when the system attempted to communicate with other IT systems being used in the public sector.

However, it seems the long-time “anomaly” will finally be fixed – and in good time too, seeing as Malta can probably expect a larger-than-usual batch of babies coming nine months after quarantine.

Tag someone who might actually use this to amend their name to what it was always meant to be.