In the Beginning
In the late 1800s, a few Maltese Baldacchinos appear in Wales census lists and between 1914 and 1927, the first Baldacchino births were registered in the Cardiff area. However most of these emigrants do not appear to have remained in Great Britain consistent with statistics that become available in the second half of the 20th century identifying high rates of returnees to Malta. Before the 1911 Census, John Baldacchino and his wife Rosina Alessandro arrived with their five children from Senglea, Malta, settling in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. John sailed on, a steward who deserted his ship in the USA and was reported as missing by his wife in the New South Wales, Australia Police Gazette in 1915 at ancestry.com. However, their only son John Charles Victor Thomas Baldacchino married Mary Margaret Charlesworth in Portsmouth in 1929 and had 14 children including 9 sons who would ensure that the Baldacchino name survives in England to present day.
Migration
No Baldacchinos have been found in Wales since 1981 but John and Mary’s ancestors grew rapidly in the Portsmouth area, London became a popular destination for Baldacchinos from the 1940s and Manchester, Lancashire became popular in the 1960s. The Baldacchino surname spread to many English counties and a few Baldacckinos have been found in the Manchester area, but about 80% of Baldacchino births in the 20th century were located in just four English counties and Wales as shown below. The Portsmouth family line accounts for about half of all of the Baldacchino births in England and Wales.
The Surname Today
forebears.io estimates that, in 2025, there were 238 people with the surname Baldacchino, 2 with Baldachino, 6 with Baldacckino, 1 with Ballacchino and 1 with Baldoquin in England. Baldacckino is an established variant form in the Manchester area while the other spellings may be misspellings. The most prevalent residence for Baldacchinos is the county of Hampshire on the south coast, remaining the home of the many descendants of John Baldacchino and Rosina Alessandro. Greater London also remains home to a significant number of Baldacchinos.
