History of Naxxar

Origin of the name

According to tradition, the people of Naxxar were amongst the first to help the shipwrecked, including Saint Paul, when the ship he was on went aground on the rocks. For this reason many connect the name Naxxar with Nassar (Nasra) which means 'conversion to Christianity'. They also say that Naxxar can derive from the Maltese verb "Naxar" which means to hang up clothes. Others insist that the name comes from “Nsara” or “Nazaroei” which means 'those who believe in the teachings of Christ who came from Nazareth and thus “Nozri”'. Others say that the word Naxxar means 'one who saws, separates or cuts' – it might be worth mentioning that in Naxxar there are a lot of stonemasons. Magri, in his book says that the word naxar comes from “nazar” which in Jewish means “chosen for him” or else “one who keeps to himself”. This is because in the vicinity the Arabs had formed a village that they called Hal Muselmiet, which means 'the village of the Muslims'. For this reason the Christians started another village – that of the Christians and so the name of Naxxar.

Motto

Although it has never been clearly explained where the name Naxxar originated, it is a clear fact that there is a close tie with the tradition that the people of Naxxar were the first converts to Christianity. In fact the Parish of Naxxar was the first in the Maltese outskirts, after that of the Cathedral (Mdina) and that of Vittoriosa. This is borne out and further evidenced by the village motto – Prior Credidi – meaning the First To Believe