Finding Birth Information for Swedish Family History Research

Back to Sweden►

A person’s birth day, month, and year are key to correctly identifying an ancestor. Usually people find the birth information (or age) in other records first, such as the Household Examination records and many other record types too. In Swedish research, the entry in the parish birth and christening record is considered the primary source for this information. To do this, you must know 2 things:


 * 1. The approximate birth year


 * 2. The name of the parish where the parents (or mother) were residing at the time of the birth or christening.

Sometimes finding the estimated year or parish where the birth is recorded can be a challenge. In situations like this, you must turn to other records for clues. Then after you find enough clues (or just the right clues) you can verify the actual birth and christening entry.

The good news is, the entire kingdom of Sweden was organized into parishes long before birth and christening records were being written. This means the majority of births were recorded (back to when the parish records begin.) Unless there are gaps in the records, it’s not if a person’s birth was recorded, it’s where was it recorded.

The table below is a list of Swedish records that show birth information. The records have been ranked with the best source at the top, followed by others that might help.

If you find a possible match in a record, but need help to read or interpret the entry, go to the FamilySearch Forums for Sweden or the FamilySearch Sweden Genealogy Research page in facebook for assistance (the information in the FamilySearch Forums is easier to use at a later date.)