Maltese language experts have demanded immediate action for the Public Registry's systems to be updated to allow them to accept Maltese letters. 

Parents who want to give their child a traditional Maltese name currently cannot, with the Public Registry saying its systems are not equipped to use Maltese fonts.

The Akkademja tal-Malti asked Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat, who is responsible for the Public Registry, to take immediate action to fix the problem.

Nationalist MP Ryan Callus on Tuesday described the situation as "shameful." He raised the matter in Parliament after he came across a post on Facebook conveying the frustration and anger of a young couple who named their son Ġorġ, only to be notified by the public registry that this was not possible.

The refusal was based on the grounds that the registry did not use Maltese orthography. Schembri took MPs and the Kunsill tal-Ilsien Malti to task for failing to raise the matter.

In its statement, the Akkademja said this was a genuine complaint which had been raised in the news several times.

It noted that the official Maltese alphabet had been recognised by the government 86 years ago. But the Public Registry failed to update itself, although it had promised this was to be done.

This problem, the Akkademja said, should be solved as soon as possible for the benefit of parents and in respect to the national language.