In the case of the surname Pace this name is of patronymic origin, being one of those names based on the first name of a father. It was not not until the early Middle Ages that surnames were first used to distinguish between numbers of people bearing the same personal name. With the growth of documentation in the later Middle Ages, such names became essential and a person whose distinguished name described his trade, his place of residence, his fathers's name, or some personal characteristic, passed that name on to his children, and the surname became hereditary. Refrences to the name in Italy occur as early as the sixth and seventh centuries, the most common forms being Pax, Pace, Pacius, and Pacinus. The Pace family of Udine were ennobled in 1658, recieving the title of counts.
Pace is a VERY common Maltese surname.
A prove is the Telephone Directory. The pronounciation varies from family to family. He built-up most of Gzira, Sliema and St. He is one of the few Maltese citizens to have a town called after him.