This surname was first recorded in Malta in the early fifteenth century and is found in the 1417 Militia Roster. Possible meanings include the Arabic bayaâd referring to a "whitewashed of walls" and bayâd, meaning "heath or moor". Bayyâda, also from Arabic, could mean either a "washerwoman" or a "brooding hen", perhaps referring to an egg-seller. This coat of arms celebrates references to the colour white (abjad in Maltese), featuring what is most likely a sprig of blooming cotton on an argent (white/silver) field.