Ethnic group
Ethnic group
Gibraltarians
gibraltarenos
,
llanitos
(
Spanish
)
|
---|
|
29,573 (2022 est.)
[1]
|
|
2012 estimates, current as of 2023
|
Gibraltar
| 79%
[1]
|
---|
United Kingdom
| 13.2%
[1]
|
---|
Spain
| 2.1%
[1]
|
---|
Morocco
| 1.6%
[1]
|
---|
Other
European Union
| 2.4%
[1]
|
---|
Other
| 1.6%
[1]
|
---|
|
English
(
Gibraltarian English
),
Spanish
(
Llanito
),
British Sign
[2]
|
|
Majority:
Roman Catholic
Minority:
Anglicanism
,
Protestant
,
Sunni Islam
,
Hindu
,
Irreligion
.
|
|
Spanish
,
Andalusians
,
Catalans
,
Italians
(
Genoese
,
Ligurians
, and
Sicilians
),
Maltese
,
Portuguese
,
Jews
,
Britons
|
Gibraltarians
(
Spanish
:
gibraltarenos
, colloquially:
llanitos
) are an ethnic group native to
Gibraltar
, a
British overseas territory
located near the southernmost tip of the
Iberian Peninsula
at the entrance to the
Mediterranean Sea
.
Origins
[
edit
]
Some Gibraltarians are a
ethnic and cultural mixture
of the many immigrants who came to the
Rock of Gibraltar
over 300 years. Following its
capture
by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704, all but 70
[3]
of the existing inhabitants of Gibraltar elected to leave
[4]
with many settling nearby. Since then, immigrants from the United Kingdom, Italy,
Malta
,
Portugal
,
Morocco
,
Menorca
, and
India
have settled at Gibraltar, as have
Sephardic Jews
from
North Africa
.
[5]
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:
Rank
|
Origin
|
Proportion (%)
family names
[6]
|
1
|
British
|
27
|
2
|
Spanish (excluding Menorcan)
|
24
|
3
|
Italian
|
19
|
4
|
Portuguese
|
11
|
5
|
Maltese
|
8
|
6
|
Jewish
|
3
|
7
|
Menorcan
|
2
|
8
|
Other
|
4
|
9
|
Unassigned
|
2
|
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
),
[7]
[8]
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
[
edit
]
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
).
[9]
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),
[10]
Ferrary (35), Ramagge (24), Picardo (6), Isola (24), Canepa (12), Cavilla (14) and Bossano (15).
[11]
Maltese surnames
[
edit
]
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).
[11]
Nationality
[
edit
]
Gibraltarians are
British citizens
, albeit with a distinct identity of their own. Gibraltar is sometimes referred by the younger generation as "Gib" (/d??b/). They are colloquially referred to as Llanitos (or Yanitos),
[12]
both locally and in Spain.
[13]
There are also other nicknames in English for Gibraltar, relating to the Rock of Gibraltar.
[14]
2012 census
[
edit
]
Statistics for the usually-Resident Population and Persons Present in Gibraltar.
[15]
A usual resident of Gibraltar, for census purposes, is anyone who, on 12 November 2012:
(a) was in Gibraltar and had stayed or intended to stay in Gibraltar for a period of 12 months or more, or;
(b) has a permanent Gibraltar address but is outside Gibraltar and intends to be outside Gibraltar for less than 12 months.
Rank
|
Nationality
|
Percent of total population
[15]
|
Population
|
1
|
Gibraltarian
|
79.0%
|
25,444
|
2
|
UK and Other
British
|
13.2%
|
4,249
|
3
|
Spanish
|
2.1%
|
675
|
4
|
Moroccan
|
1.6%
|
522
|
5
|
Other EU
|
2.4%
|
785
|
6
|
Other*
|
1.6%
|
519
|
- (*) Includes all nationalities different from Gibraltarian, UK and other British and Moroccan.
The 2012 census showed a total Usually-Resident population of 32,194. There was a small decrease in the proportion of Gibraltarians (79.0%), an increase in the ratio of "Other British" (13.2%) and a small increase in the ratio of "Other" (6.2%).
[15]
Culture
[
edit
]
Religion
[
edit
]
The main religion of Gibraltar is Christianity with the majority of Gibraltarians belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. Other Christian denominations include the
Church of England
, the
Gibraltar Methodist Church
,
[16]
the
Church of Scotland
, various
Pentecostal
and independent churches mostly influenced by the
House Church
and
Charismatic movements
, as well as a
Plymouth Brethren
congregation. There is also a ward of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
, and
Jehovah's Witnesses
. There are a number of
Hindu
Indians, a Moroccan
Muslim
population, members of the
Baha?i Faith
[17]
and a long-established
Jewish community
.
[18]
[19]
Rank
|
Religion
|
Proportion (%) of Gibraltarians
[20]
|
1
|
Roman Catholic
|
78.09%
|
2
|
Church of England
|
6.98%
|
3
|
Muslim
|
4.01%
|
4
|
Other Christian
|
3.21%
|
5
|
None
|
2.86%
|
6
|
Jewish
|
2.12%
|
7
|
Hindu
|
1.79%
|
8
|
Other or unspecified
|
0.94%
|
Languages
[
edit
]
English (used in schools and for official purposes) and Spanish are the main languages of Gibraltar. Although English is the official language, Gibraltarians are typically bilingual, speaking Spanish as fluently as English.
[21]
Most Gibraltarians converse in
Llanito
, Gibraltar's
vernacular
. It is an old dialect of
Andalusian Spanish
with modern
British English
influence, as well as influences from
Genoese
Ligurian,
Maltese
, Portuguese and
Haketia
. Gibraltarians may also
code-switch
to English.
Hebrew
is spoken by the significant
Jewish community
.
Arabic
is also spoken by the Moroccan community, similar to
Hindi
and
Sindhi
being spoken by the Indian community of Gibraltar.
Maltese
is still spoken by some families of Maltese descent.
Gibraltarians have a light, but unique, accent when speaking English; the accent is primarily influenced by Andalusian Spanish and southern British English. Many educated Gibraltarians are able to converse in
Received Pronunciation
.
Notable Gibraltarians
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Gibraltar"
.
The World Factbook
. CIA. 11 January 2023.
- ^
"Government Publishes Bill to recognise British Sign Language as a language of Gibraltar - 274/2022"
.
Government of Gibraltar
. 19 April 2022.
Archived
from the original on 23 November 2022
. Retrieved
24 November
2022
.
- ^
Gold, Peter (2005).
Gibraltar: British or Spanish?
. Routledge. p. 6.
- ^
Harvey, Maurice (1996).
Gibraltar: A History
. Spellmount Limited. p. 68.
ISBN
1-86227-103-8
.
- ^
Gold, Peter (2005).
Gibraltar: British Or Spanish?
. Psychology Press. p. 1.
ISBN
978-0-415-34795-2
.
- ^
Edward G. Archer (2006). "Ethnic factors".
Gibraltar, identity and empire
. Routledge. p. 36.
ISBN
978-0-415-34796-9
.
- ^
Jackson, William (1990).
The Rock of the Gibraltarians. A History of Gibraltar
(second ed.). Grendon, Northamptonshire, UK: Gibraltar Books. p. 225.
ISBN
0-948466-14-6
.
The open frontier helped to increase the Spanish share, and naval links with Menorca produced the small Menorcan contingent.
- ^
Edward G. Archer (2006).
Gibraltar, identity and empire
. Routledge. pp. 42?43.
ISBN
978-0-415-34796-9
.
- ^
Research on Genoese surnames in Gibraltar (in Italian)
- ^
History of the Chipulina family in Gibraltar
- ^
a
b
"Gibraltar Telephone Directory"
.
gibyellow.gi
.
- ^
Levey, David (2008). "English, Spanish... and Yanito".
Language Change and Variation in Gibraltar
. John Benjamins Publishing. p. 1.
ISBN
978-9027218629
.
Yanito
(or
Llanito
) is the name popularly given to the native of Gibraltar as well as the local/vernacular they speak
- ^
"llanito, ta"
.
Diccionario de la lengua espanola
(in Spanish) (23rd ed.). Madrid:
Real Academia Espanola
. 2014.
- ^
Adrian Room (1 January 2006).
Nicknames of Places: Origins and Meanings of the Alternate and Secondary Names, Sobriquets, Titles, Epithets and Slogans for 4600 Places Worldwide
. McFarland & Company. p.
106
.
ISBN
978-0-7864-2497-9
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Census of Gibraltar"
(PDF)
.
Gibraltar.gov.gi
. 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2017
.
- ^
"Gibraltar Methodist Church"
. The Methodist Church. Archived from
the original
on 18 January 2018
. Retrieved
30 October
2007
.
- ^
"National Baha'i Communities | The Baha?i Faith"
. Bahai.org
. Retrieved
13 May
2013
.
- ^
"People"
. Official Government of Gibraltar London website. 2005. Archived from
the original
on 13 October 2007
. Retrieved
6 November
2007
.
- ^
Jacobs, Joseph.
"Gibraltar"
. JewishEncyclopedia.com
. Retrieved
6 November
2007
.
- ^
Census of Gibraltar 2001
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Language of Gibraltar"
. 16 April 2014.