Boffa (surname)

Boffa is a surname of Italian origin, believed to have been a nickname for a person who suffered from shortness of breath, or breathed rapidly or heavily (from the Old Italian boffare "to pant", "to puff").[1] The name is common in Malta, although it did not appear in the Status Animarum (diocesan census) of 1687 and is believed to have been absent from Malta at that time, and reintroduced at a later stage.[2]

People with the surname Boffa include:

  • Ernest Joseph Boffa (1904–2004), a Canadian bush pilot
  • Menato Boffa (born 1930), an Italian racing driver
  • Sir Paul Boffa, OBE (1890–1962), Prime Minister of Malta (1947–1950)
  • Stefania Boffa (born 1988), a Swiss tennis player

References
  1. Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
  2. Cassar, Mario (2003). The surnames of the Maltese Islands: an etymological dictionary. Book Distributors Ltd. ISBN 99909-72-16-8.
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