🇫🇷 France · French
France Family Tree
French genealogy benefits from excellent civil records dating back to the French Revolution (1792) and church records going back much further. Many French archives have been digitized and are available free online.
France naming patterns
French surnames often indicate origin (Dubois = of the wood, Dupont = of the bridge), occupation (Lefèvre = the smith), or personal characteristics (Moreau = dark-skinned, Petit = small, Legrand = the large).
Common France surnames
Where to find France records
- Archives départementales (free online)
- Filae.com
- Geneanet.org
- FamilySearch France
- Ancestry France
Migration history
French emigration was relatively modest compared to other European nations, but significant communities formed in Quebec (Canada), Louisiana (USA), and various French colonial territories.
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