A fork of Rural Dictionary
a Maltese last name (no not the dog the country Malta)
The surname Aquilina is of Maltese origin, being a diminutive or familiar form of the nickname Aquila, "eagle", given to one of keen sight or perhaps of dignified and majestic bearing.
From such applications the name developed into a regular Christian name and thus, a surname. There are several early saints and martyrs of this name and the dedication of a parish church to one of them may have given the name a local popularity.