Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg in 2019, photo by Sheila_F/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg
Place of Birth: South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Date of Birth: January 19, 1982
Ethnicity:
*father – Maltese
*mother – English, Scottish, German, distant Swiss-German, Welsh, and Cornish
Pete Buttigieg is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, since February 3, 2021, and, previously, as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2020. He is a military combat veteran and Naval Intelligence Officer, having deployed to Afghanistan during his time as Mayor.
He was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2020.
Pete is the son of Jennifer Anne (Montgomery) and Joseph Anthony Buttigieg II. His parents are/were professors, at The University of Notre Dame in South Bend. His father, who was born in Ħamrun, Malta, was a literary scholar and translator, who initially studied to be a Jesuit priest. Pete’s surname, Buttigieg, is a Maltese name of Semitic origin, with “tigieg” being a Semitic designation for “poultry.”
Pete’s mother, who was born in Stanislaus, California, is from a family from Indiana and Oklahoma, and has English, Scottish, German, and more distant Swiss-German, Welsh, and Cornish, ancestry. She is a Mayflower descendant.
Pete is married to educator Chasten Glezman. Chasten’s surname comes from Polish (Catholic) ancestry. The couple has two children, who are adopted.
Pete is the first and (thus far) only openly gay person, and the first and (thus far) only millennial, to have won a caucus and/or primary for a major American political party’s Presidential nomination. He won the Democratic Party’s Iowa Caucus in 2020. Pete is also the first openly gay U.S. cabinet member.
Of his own background, Pete has stated:
Most people have trouble pronouncing my name, so they just call me “Mayor Pete.” My surname, Buttigieg (Boot-edge-edge), is very common in my father’s country of origin, the tiny island of Malta, and nowhere else. Dad came to America in the 1970s and became a citizen; he married my mother, an Army brat and umpteenth-generation Hoosier, and the two of them settled in South Bend, Indiana, shortly before I was born…
His father was Catholic and his mother is of Methodist background. Pete was baptized Catholic. He is a practicing Christian, in the Episcopalian denomination.
Pete is the first person of Maltese heritage to have mounted a notable campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States.
He is also one of the first three people born in the 1980s to have run a prominent campaign for a major party’s nomination for President of the United States, along with Tulsi Gabbard and Eric Swalwell, all of whom sought the 2020 Democratic nomination.
Pete’s paternal grandfather was named Joseph Anthony Buttigieg (the son of Curcifisio/Crocifisso Buttigieg and Stella). Pete’s grandfather Joseph was born on Malta.
Pete’s paternal grandmother was Maria Concetta “Cettina” Portelli (the daughter of Francesco Portelli and Cetta Saliba). Maria was born on Malta. Cetta was the daughter of Joseph/Giuseppe Saliba and Paola/Paolina Mintoff.
Pete’s maternal grandfather was John Willard Montgomery (the son of John M./W. Montgomery and Carrie Edith Yount). Pete’s grandfather John was born in Scottsburg, Scott, Indiana. Pete’s great-grandfather John was the son of William Gabriel Montgomery and Hannah Catherine Wardell. Carrie was a commercial hotel owner and manager, and was the daughter of James Madison Yount and Indiana Brooks.
Pete’s maternal grandmother was Zoe Anne Neal (the daughter of William Caswell “Will” Neal and Maye Louise Rasar). Zoe was born in McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma. William was the son of William Henry Neal and Lena Chase. Maye was the daughter of George William Rasar and Annie Wooly.
Sources: Information about Pete’s reception in and connection to Malta – https://www.thedailybeast.com
https://www.washingtonpost.com
Family history of Pete Buttigieg – https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org
Interview about Pete’s religious background – https://www.patheos.com
Genealogies of Pete Buttigieg – https://www.geni.com
https://famouskin.com
Obituary of Pete’s maternal grandmother, Zoe Anne (Neal) Montgomery – http://files.usgwarchives.nettxt
I found this on geni.com when looking up Pete Buttigieg’s paternal grandfather Joseph Anthony Buttigieg.
“The common haplogroup governing within Maltese patronymic males is G-M406. We have now kit #878982 of a male BUTTIGIEG who analyzed his saliva with the Family Tree DNA Genetic Lab in Houston, TX. His genetic test results point to male cluster Haplogroup: J1-M267>Z640>Z2293>Z642. This haplogroup seems to be common with Jewish patronymic males. Conclusions: The BUTTIGIEG patronymic male Haplogroup J1-Z642 is unique within Malta and points to Near-East origin @ 80% certainty of being of Jewish Heritage.”
https://www.geni.com/people/Joseph-Buttigieg/6000000089386602919
The user you quoted is incorrect. J1-M267 is a pretty general Middle Eastern haplogroup shared by Arabs and Jews, alike. Given that we’re talking Malta, it’s very likely Arab in origin.
@jackson9
Jewish fetish again? Even though Pete would carry that haplogroup, it does not mean he has Jewish roots. As Oaken said, it’s a common MENA Dna marker shared by various populations (but only 15-20% of Ashkenazi Jews seem to be J1 and Maltese people even less than that).
why would I be inserting my Jewish fetish here I said I am a Cory Booker guy? I thought the star of David and link was strange under Pete’s grandfather’s geni profile was all.
Don’t worry. Wondering now if Pete is related to Britney Spears, would you like the idea?
Yea that would be cool!
Maltese people have a Semitic origin (as well as Italian), so it’s not surprising.
I believe Cetta Saliba’s parents were Joseph Saliba and Paola Mintoff
Hmmm…Maltese? So he’s half dog? Wow.
He appears to be tall and black. He looks at least 60% African.
You make a good point. I learned from follers years ago that America already had 30 melungeon presidents so you’re probably correct that Buttigieg is 60% African in all seriousness.
He’s also half Alsatian, so he’s fully dog.
his paternal great-grandfather’s correct name I think it’s Crocifisso Buttigieg.
Crocifisso literally means “crucified”.
It’s the kind of Catholic names Sicilians/Southern Italians used to have back then, like Immacolata (“immaculate”) for ladies .
his surname is common in Malta and it appears to have a Semitic origin.
Yes. Maltese people are ethnically Sicilian but speak a dialect of Arabic, which was replaced in Sicily during the Norman conquest of the island. It survived in Malta as the modern day Maltese language.