Scotland Genealogy

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Scotland

Guide to Scotland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Scotland Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder
Record Types
Cemeteries Census Records Church Directories Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogies Heraldry Land & Property Merchant Marine	Military Records Newspapers Nobility Occupations Online Records Periodicals Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc. Probate Records Religious Records School Records Taxation
Scotland Background
Biography Church History Gazetteers Handwriting Historical Geography	History Languages Maps Personal Names For Further Reading
Cultural Groups
Scots Irish
Local Research Resources
Archives & Libraries Societies Family History Centers

Country Information

Scotland is a one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (together with England, Wales and Northern Ireland). In 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland joined the Kingdom of England in union to become the Kingdom of Great Britain. The official language is English., although Scottish Gaelic has some legal status within certain contexts.

Scotland has also been known unofficially as "Caledonia", hence the many "Caledonian Societies" around the world.

Why Scotland Historic Counties are Used

The Scotland counties listed below are based on historic boundaries pre-1974. The records dating before 1974 are located within the information found in the historic counties. This practice better assists our patrons who are researching their ancestors before the modern time period.

Getting Started

Getting Started with Scotland Research Links to articles on getting started with Scotland research. Guided Research Strategies for locating births, marriages, and deaths Finding Your Ancestors in Scotland before 1855 - 2010 conference handout Researching Your Scottish Ancestry Before 1855 Research Strategies See More Research Strategies

Scotland Research Tools Links to articles and websites that assist in Scotland research. Record Finder ScotlandsPeople - how to access this website and Scotland online records. Websites See More Research Tools

Scotland Online Genealogy Records

Ask the Community

Scotland Clickable Map

Counties

Here is a list of the historic counties with the new (post-1974) county or counties they are primarily a part of. Click on an old county name to see a list of historic parishes with further links to information on parish records. The codes are the standard 'Chapman Code' abbreviations for the historic counties. For more information see Scotland Counties.

Historic County	Code	Post-1974 County
Aberdeenshire	ABD	Grampian
Angus (or Forfarshire)	ANS	Tayside
Argyllshire	ARL	Strathclyde
Ayrshire	AYR	Strathclyde
Banffshire	BAN	Grampian
Berwickshire	BEW	Borders
Bute	BUT	Strathclyde
Caithness	CAI	Highland
Clackmannanshire	CLK	Central
Dumfriesshire	DFS	Dumfries & Galloway
Dunbartonshire	DNB	Strathclyde
East Lothian (or Haddingtonshire)	ELN	Lothian
Edinburghshire (see Midlothian)	---	---
Elginshire (see Moray)	---	---
Fife (Kingdom of)	FIF	Fife
Forfarshire (see Angus)	---	---
Haddingtonshire (see East Lothian)	---	---
Inverness-shire	INV	Highland
Kincardineshire	KCD	Grampian
Kinross-shire	KRS	Tayside
Kirkcudbrightshire	KKD	Dumfries & Galloway
Lanarkshire	LKS	Strathclyde
Linlithgowshire (see West Lothian)	---	---
Midlothian (or Edinburghshire)	MLN	Lothian
Moray (or Elginshire)	MOR	Grampian
Nairnshire	NAI	Highland
Orkney Islands	OKI	Orkney
Peeblesshire	PEE	Borders
Perthshire	PER	Tayside, Central
Renfrewshire	RFW	Strathclyde
Ross & Cromarty	ROC	Highland
Roxburghshire	ROX	Borders
Selkirkshire	SEL	Borders
Shetland (or Zetland) Islands	SHI	Shetland
Stirlingshire	STI	Central
Sutherland	SUT	Highland
West Lothian (or Linlithgowshire)	WLN	Lothian
Wigtownshire	WIG	Dumfries & Galloway

More Scotland Research Strategies

Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy Wiki articles for Scotland.

• Finding Records of Your Ancestors - Scotland 1855 To 1901 - Beginners Guide (42 Mb pdf file)
• Family History Library Research Guide for Scotland - contains out-of-date links
• Getting Started with Scottish research

More Scotland Research Tools

Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in Scotland.

• Personal names
• Glossary of terms
• Lord Lyon, the chief herald of Scotland.
• Scotland Church Records Union List - introduction to this resource available in the Wiki.
• ScotlandsPeople - the official Scottish Government site for searching government records and archives.
• Handfast tradition
• County list pre and post 1974 - with abbreviation codes
• Recording Angels Scottish Registrars since 1855
• A History of Epidemics in Britain

FamilySearch Resources

Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.

• Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
• Historical Records
• Family History Center locator map

Research Tutorials

• Basic Scotland Research Strategies
• Scotland's Old Parish Registers: How to Access, Use, and Interpret - Parts 1 and 2
• Using Church of Scotland Parochial Registers to trace Scots Ancestry
• Scotland's Lost Other Half: Tracing Difficult Ancestral Lines in Scotland's Non-Parochial Register
• British Resources on FamilySearch.org - Parts 1 and 2
• www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk Official Scottish Government records and archives search site
• The Scots-irish: Plantation and Settlement of Ulster in the 17th Century