Scotland Genealogy

Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (together with England, Wales and Northern Ireland). The city of Edinburgh, on the east coast, is the country's capital, seat of government and chief commercial centre. The country's largest city is Glasgow. Other major cities include Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Stirling and Inverness.

Beginners' Corner
Reading these articles first may help you get started with your Scottish research.


 * Getting Started - how to get started with your Scottish research
 * Strategies for locating births, marriages, and deaths in Scotland
 * Beginners Guide: Finding Records of Your Ancestors - Scotland 1855 To 1901 (42 Mb pdf file)
 * Finding Your Ancestors in Scotland before 1855 - the handout from a presentation given at a genealogical conference in 2010
 * Researching Your Scottish Ancestry Before 1855 - more tips for finding your ancestors
 * Record selection table - a list of the best records to search to find specific information

Featured content

 * Browse: Pages for Scotland
 * Article: Scotland Church Records Union List - introduction to this resource available in the Wiki.
 * Article: ScotlandsPeople - information about this premier website for online access to Scotland's genealogical records.

Research tools
Click on a county to go to that county's page:


 * County list (with abbreviation codes)
 * Maps of old and new counties
 * Personal names
 * Glossary of terms
 * Handfast tradition
 * Bartholomew's map of Scotland counties
 * BYU Research Guide for Scotland

Wiki articles describing online collections are found at:


 * Scotland Births and Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records)
 * Scotland Marriages (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Useful Websites

 * Scottish Resources and help pages on RootsChat Scottish Resources and help pages. (Free).
 * Catholic Church births and baptisms for 1703-1955 are now indexed on ScotlandsPeople.
 * NEW! Join a Genealogy Research Community for Scotland [Facebook]
 * An index of 21,000 passengers who left Scottish ports 1890-1960 is on Scottish Emigration Database
 * Hebridean Connection is a useful site for those searching in the Western Isles.
 * Read about the K13 submarine disaster, which took place during World War I.

Click here for information about on-line resources for Scotland

Help Wanted
To add your knowledge and help expand the wiki see Help wanted on the Scotland pages