Formosa (surname)

Formosa is a common surname in Malta, Spain, Portugal, Spanish colonies and other Mediterranean countries.

The name derives from the Latin name Formosus and Spanish word "fermoso", meaning "beautiful".

Formosa, as the island of Taiwan was formerly known in the West, has the same linguistic origin - from the Portuguese Ilha Formosa, "beautiful island".

People with the surname

 * Andreas Formosa, Cypriot actor
 * Carlo Formosa (1963 - ), Italian diplomat, first ambassador of Italy to ONU
 * Gil Formosa, French cartoonist and an illustrator
 * Henry Formosa, Canadian politician of Maltese origin
 * Joann Formosa, Australian Para-equestrian
 * John Formosa, Maltese theologian, canonist, minor philosopher, and poet
 * Luis Manresa Formosa (1915-2010), Guatemalan prelate of Roman Catholic Society of Jesus
 * Noel Formosa was the mayor of St. Lawrence
 * Ric Formosa, Australian composer and musician
 * David Formosa, current mayor of Powell River, British Columbia