Sa‘id
Sa‘id is a male Arabic given name meaning "happy". For the female version, see Saida; for the Turkish variant, see Sait. The Maltese surname
Said, pronounced, has the same origin but has been borne by Latin Catholics for over seven centuries. Most Maltese surnames are of Italian origin, but this is one of the very few authentically Arabic given names that have survived in the islands as family names. It is a variant of the medieval Sicilian Christian surname
Saido,
Saito which was derived from the Siculo-Arabic given name
Sa'īd used by both Muslims and Christians. In Sicily and Malta this surname was sometimes italianized as
Felice. The surname was established in Malta by 1419, appearing mostly as
Sayd in the militia list of that year. In the 1480 militia list it is spelt mostly
Said, but was later variously written
Said,
Sayd,
Sajt,
Sait in the Catholic church census of 1687.