Benin Genealogy

Africa Benin

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

The Republic of Benin is the former Republic of Dahomey. Dahomey was called after the historic kingdom of Dahomey or Abomey, conquered by the French in 1892-94. Benin became a self governing republic within the French Community in December 1958 and an independent state on 1 August 1960. The major ethnic groups residing in the country are the Fon, Yoruba, Adja, Bariba, Aizo, Somba, and Fulani. Roughly forty percent of the population are Fon. Some sixty-five percent of the population follow traditional animist beliefs. In 1997 there were 1,240,000 Roman Catholics in Benin and 700,000 Moslems, and 6% other.

The population was 4,915,555 in the census of February 1992, rising to 6,101,000 at mid-1998 (according to official estimates). The population of Cotonou, the political capital and major port, was listed at 536,827 in the 1992 census, and that of Porto-Novo, the official capital, was 179,138.

The official language of Benin is French. There are five basic language groups and numerous subgroups spoken in the country. However, almost half of the population speak Fon.

Getting started with Benin research
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in Western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey (until 1975) or Dahomania. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. The name Dahomey was changed in 1975 to The People’s Republic of Benin, named after the body of water on which the country lies, the Bight of Benin. This name was picked due to its neutrality, since the current political boundaries of Benin encompass over fifty distinct linguistic groups and nearly as many individual ethnic groups. Read more...

Jurisdictions
12 departments: Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou

Research Tools

 * Afr-Benin Mailing List
 * Benin Genealogy


 * (helpful tools and resources, gazetteers)
 * (language dictionary, handwriting guide or tutorial, etc.)

Wiki Pages

 * Benin, Census, 2002 (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Family History Centres

 * Cotonou Benin Family History Center

FamilySearch Pages

 * Benin. Bulletin officiel du ministère des colonies 36 Films that have records of the Colonial Government from 1891 to 1939.
 * Benin. Journal officiel de la République du Dahomey Benin. Official Journal of the Republic of Dahomey 15 films of that government's records 1960 to 1975.
 * Benin, Journal officiel de la République populaire du Bénin Benin, Official Gazette of the Republic of Benin 1976 to 2012
 * Registres de l'état civil de Saint-Benin-d'Azy (Nièvre) 1793-1862; tables décennales 1802-1902 Vital records of Saint-Benin-d'Azy (Nièvre) 1793-1862; 1802-1902 decennial tables births, marriages, deaths, ten year indexes.

Links to articles, subcategories and images under the Category Benin

 * Category:Benin