Germanic Genealogy
German Family Names
Genealogical Resources: Contents
Articles/How-To's | Glossaries | FAQs | Web Links
Finding your German, Austrian, Swiss or other roots
Articles and How-To's
German First Names
The origin and meaning of Germanic first names.
German Last Names
A look at the origin and meanings of Germanic surnames. Also see our German Surname Lexikon.
English-German Geographic Glossary
A special gazetteer of historic place names in German and English. This glossary can help you find towns, regions, and even countries that can no longer be found on modern maps. For example, Germany (aka Prussia) and the Austro-Hungarian empire once extended over parts of Europe that are now parts of other countries.
More German Last Names and Their Meanings
Find out the English meaning of a German surname. What do names such as Bauer, Kaufmann or Meier/Meyer really mean?
Top 50 German Surnames
What are the most common German names in Germany? This ranked list includes the meaning of each German family name from Müller to Keller.
German Surname Lexikon
A special glossary of German family names with their English meanings.
What's in a (German) Name?
An interesting look at the last names of well-known Germans, Austrians, and Swiss personalities, living and dead. Where do these names come from? What is their meaning? Decoding surnames is a tricky business and many family names are not what they appear to be. Find out more about names of people with names such as Adenauer, Daimler, Klum, Mozart, Schwarzenegger, or Weissmuller.
Germanic Genealogy Books
A selection of useful references and how-to books for tracing your own Germanic roots.
Germanic Genealogy FAQ
A collection of frequently asked questions related to family research and German.
German Roots: A Personal Search
A personal account of a visit to a small town in Germany to discover one family's origins. Helpful lessons from the field in how to conduct such a search—with sample documents. Also see related quiz below.
German Roots: Fotos
Photographs of the locations and genealogical documents mentioned in the "Personal Search" article above. Includes a detailed look at the "Sütterlin" script found in older Germanic genealogy records.
German Typefaces: The Battle Between Antiqua and Fraktur
All about the history and uses of German "Gothic" type (Fraktur). This is a typeface frequently seen in old German documents. With examples.
Germanic Genealogy QUIZ
A self-scoring quiz on German vocabulary used in genealogical documents.
From Hamburg to Amerika
The Hamburg State Archive is putting emigrant passenger lists online.
German and Genealogy
A beginner's guide to tracing your Germanic roots and German vocabulary related to Germanic genealogy.
German Place Names
Name Part Three. The origin and meaning of German place names.
Translate A Text
Our special page allows you to translate from German to English, English to German, or in several other language combinations.
What's in a Name? - Ludwig
Part One of a series on names. Ludwig (Lewis, Louis) is one of those Germanic names that have fallen out of favor, but it has a long and interesting history.
ALSO SEE > German-English Glossaries for genealogy
Related Pages
Books: Germanic Genealogy
A selection of useful references and how-to books for tracing your own Germanic roots.
Books: German Names
A special collection of books related to Germanic first and last names.
Germanic Genealogy
Web links and other Germanic genealogy resources.
German Names - Links
A special collection of Web links related to names.
Dictionaries
Links from your Guide for online and print dictionaries that can help you translate German genealogical terms.
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